Family Life
by fanficfan71
Summary: Set a few years after the ending of season 4. Martin and Louisa are married with a three year old. Some adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**Set several years after the end of series 4.**

_**Thanks to Griffinstar for her help in spotting Aussie-isms and providing the appropriate UK term, and to my own 3 year old for providing Phil's quotes.**_

Martin woke to the sensation of his three year old son Phil, scrambling over him to get into his and Louisa's bed. Another bad dream must have woken him again, and he was up and out of his bed and into theirs. Phil was going through a stage of separation anxiety, and all of his bad dreams and nightmares featured him being left alone. Having experienced a lonely childhood himself, Martin was more sympathetic to Phil's feelings than many would have credited him for, and never complained when his son came to join them in their bed. It had however, meant that they had to sell their Queen sized bed and upgrade to a King Size, as like his father, Luke was big for his age and took up a lot of space.

Phil finally managed to get under the covers, and then decided that 3am was the perfect time of the night to have a conversation.

"Daddy, can I have a drink of water?" Fortunately Martin and Louisa had learned from experience, and now had a drink bottle on hand for emergencies such as this in the middle of the night. Martin groped for the drink bottle and handed it to Phil. After a long drink Phil handed the bottle back to his father saying

"I'm finished now Daddy". Martin grunted an unintelligible reply and took the drink bottle back from his son and placed it on his bedside table.

Phil was about to engage his father in a conversation when Martin said "Now go to sleep, or you'll have to go back to your own bed", then turned on his side to discourage any further conversation from his son at this time of the morning. Phil, sensing that he wasn't going to be able to talk to his Daddy at the moment, decided that Mummy and Daddy's warm bed, was a better option than his own, so he closed his eyes, turned on his side and cuddled up to his Dad. Mummy's snoring was too noisy for him, and her long hair always tickled his face, so he always preferred to cuddle up to Daddy.

Martin lay there, feeling his son cuddle into his back and smiled to himself. He marvelled at the difference in his life since he'd come to Portwenn. His life had changed dramatically from his lonely years as a child and then an adult living in London.

Since moving to Cornwall, he'd met Lousia, fallen in love, grown used to permanently putting his foot in his mouth and having a hard time removing it, and just when it seemed that he'd messed up beyond any hope of recovering, Phil had been born, and Louisa had given him a second chance. It had taken him a while to convince her to marry him, but he'd finally achieved it, and their little family now meant more than anything in the world to him.

Martin gradually drifted back off to sleep, only to be wakened an hour later by Phil sticking his two feet into Martin's pillowcase and trying to use it as a sleeping bag. Even as a baby, Phil had always wanted to climb into pillowcases, or burrow under sheets, almost as if this offered him some added security against all things of this world. Martin turned around, and Phil was fast asleep so Martin decided it was going to be worth the effort of getting up and relocating him back into his bed. Five minutes later Martin was back in his own bed and Phil was snuggled up in Martin's pillowcase in his own little bed. Martin brought Phil's dinosaur covered pillow back in its stead and got back into bed.

Louisa feeling him re-entering the bed, turned over and cuddled up to him and mumbled sleepily "Did you get him back in his bed OK Martin?"

"Yes, he's back, cuddled up in my pillow – I'm not sure what this thing is that he has about pillows, but he's managed to get into the pillow case, and it's nearly up to his waist. Hopefully he'll sleep in. As it's Sunday, we may get a chance for a sleep in too".

"Mmm" mumbled Louisa, "We can always hope I suppose. Goodnight Martin" Louisa said as she gave him a brief kiss and then rolled back over onto her other side, and fell back asleep. Martin woke at his usual time of 6:30 am and was about to get out of bed, when Louisa turned to him and said, "Aren't you going to sleep in this morning Martin, it is Sunday after all?"

"No point in just lying here doing nothing" said Martin, "I may as well be up and about getting things done." Louisa rolled over and pulled him in for a gentle kiss.

"Good point, I can think of something you can be doing while in bed" she said with a smile. Martin, not always the best on picking up on social cues, did at least understand this one. Rolling over and taking his wife into his arms, Martin responded with a slow, sensual kiss, which was returned in kind by Louisa. Things were just getting interesting when Phil came into their room and looking at them solemnly said,

"I need to go the toilet Mummy",

"Well you know where the toilet is, off you go" said Martin, depressed now that his plans for the morning had been so rapidly altered.

"I'm scared, I want someone to come with me."

"There's nothing to be scared of Phil, just turn on the light and go to the toilet" said Louisa.

"But who's going to wipe my bottom?" said Phil.

"You're quite big enough to wipe your own bottom" said Martin, "you do it all the time."

"But I don't like wiping my own bottom" said Phil, "it's dirty".

Knowing that it was going to be a losing battle, and that soon she would have dirty underwear to wash if she didn't get up soon, Louisa rose from the bed and took Phil down the hallway to the toilet.

Sitting on the toilet, Phil happily sang the alphabet song, and when he was finished he made a half hearted attempt to wipe his bottom, and insisted that Louisa inspect him, and finish the job to his satisfaction. Thinking to herself that Phil had inherited his father's dislike of mess, Louisa sighed and smiled as her fastidious little son washed his hands and said to her that he was hungry, and "I need something to eat please Mummy".

While Louisa had been upstairs on _toilet patrol_, Martin had already headed down to the kitchen and prepared cereal for everyone for breakfast. Louisa and Phil entered the kitchen to the sight of a freshly set table, 3 bowls of cereal and the smell of coffee brewing.

After putting Phil in his chair, Louisa moved to Martin and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Thanks for getting the breakfast ready Martin" she said with an appreciative smile.

"You're welcome" said Martin, thinking he had got the better end of the deal, breakfast preparation won over toilet duties in his estimation every time.

"Hopefully we'll get a chance to finish our interrupted _conversation_ at a later time Louisa said. At the thought of this, Martin's mood improved dramatically and a small smile formed on his face. By this stage everyone was seated around the kitchen table and Phil was happy to finally have his mummy and daddy's attention.

Sucking from his curly straw that he insisted he needed when drinking from a cup, Phil said in a serious tone,

"Daddy?"

"Yes Phil"

"This straw looks just like a large intestine doesn't it?"

"Well it looks like he's been paying attention to that lift the flap book of the human body that you've been reading to him at bed time Martin" said Louisa with a smile. She loved watching Martin and Phil at bedtime. Phil insisted that if Martin was home, that he read his bedtime books to him. She was OK as a second best, but no-one could beat Martin in his eyes when it came to bed time stories. He liked the general stories that she read to him, but absolutely loved the factual lift the flap books that Martin had bought the whole series of, and was reading to him.

"Yes, Phil, it does look a bit like a large intestine" said Martin. "You're very clever for noticing".

"Mummy, what day is it today?"

"It's Sunday", said Louisa.

"What are we doing today Mummy?"

"Well, after everyone is dressed and everything has been tidied up, we're going to visit Grandma" said Louisa.

Martin and Louisa had decided that as Joan was more Martin's mother, than his Aunt, and that they didn't want Phil to ever have anything at all to do with Martin's natural mother, then Joan would be "Grandma".

When Phil first called her "Grandma" – or "Ga-ma" as it was originally, she almost cried with pleasure. Martin had always been the closest thing she had ever had to a child of her own, and in the past couple of years their relationship had grown much stronger. Now Louisa was Martin's wife, she had only helped to strengthen the relationship. Being without a mother figure in her life, she had also made Joan her adopted mother so to speak, and Joan was thriving on her new and improved family life.

It was also handy now having Joan living in the house next door. Last year she'd had a fall and it had made her realise that she was getting too old to be running a big farm on her own, and no matter how much she loved it, she feared an old people's home even more. So when the house next to Martin and Louisa's had come up for sale, Joan had sold her farm and moved next door. This was much to Martin and Louisa's relief, as now they could keep an eye on her to make sure she was OK, and having a babysitter permanently on hand was a great arrangement for them both. There was nothing Joan liked better than babysitting, and Phil loved her company just as much as she loved his.

"Have you finished all of your cereal, Phil?" asked Louisa,

"Yes mummy", Phil replied. Then it's time to get you dressed. Louisa took Phil upstairs to get him changed, while Martin tidied up the kitchen.

An hour later, everyone was showered, changed and ready to make the walk next door to Joan's house. Since buying a house on the edge of the village, they were able to have a bit of land with their houses, rather than the quite cramped cottage lifestyle that many of the villagers enjoyed.

Soon they were at the front door of Joan's house, and Phil called out "Grandma" as he saw her coming to the door. Joan looked dotingly at Phil as she opened the door and ushered everyone into her kitchen. Many people only got to see the tough outer layer that Joan chose to show the world, but she was putty in the hands of her little "grandson". Sitting down around the table, everyone enjoyed some of Joan's home made cake that she'd made for their regular Sunday visit, especially as it was a particular favourite of Phil's.

"Can I go and play with my toys Grandma?" Phil said after he'd finished his cake. With Joan being such a regular babysitter, she had a playroom set up for Phil and he was quite content playing in it, while the adults sat and chatted.

When Phil was playing quietly in the nearby room, Martin said "Aunty Joan, I was wondering how you've been finding all of this babysitting, I'm worried that it might be getting too much for you, especially as you've been having Phil all day while we've both been at work".

"Don't be silly Marty, I'm not that old, and I love having Phil. We have a wonderful time together and I'm certainly not having any problems keeping up with him, in fact I'm a bit sad that I'll be seeing less of him once he starts pre-school next term, and I'm starting to wonder what I'm going to do with myself".

Looking at Joan, both Martin and Louisa could see the truth of this, as Joan was looking slightly depressed at the thought.

"Well actually Joan", said Louisa, "Martin and I were considering having another child, but thought we should discuss it with you first, as you would be doing a lot of the babysitting, and a young child is hard work as you know."

Joan's face lit up. "Another child, that's fantastic news, I'd love to have another grandchild to spoil rotten, if my consent's all you're waiting for, you have it". Joan was all but jumping up and down in her chair with excitement.

"Well that's one problem sorted" said Louisa with a smile.

"Why, what other problems are there?" said Joan worriedly.

"Nothing drastic" said Louisa, with a smile, but with Martin continuously being called out at the drop of a hat, and our ever inquisitive Phil, the mobile contraceptive here, it's a lot easier said than done" said Louisa, looking at Martin as she said this. Martin, by this stage was looking highly embarrassed and excused himself saying that he would be back in a moment, as he headed off in the direction of the toilet.

"Good, now that Martin's out of the way", said Joan, "we can speak freely. Why don't you head off home for a while, and I'll keep Phil company for a few hours. Just make sure you make good use of the time alone together, I won't take no for an answer, I want another grandchild", Joan looked so serious that Louisa had to laugh

"You don't think that you might just be putting us under a bit of pressure there Joan?" said Louisa with a smile.

"What do you mean pressure? You have one child, you can no doubt remember what you did to get that one, just repeat the process and I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Hmmn" said Louisa, not committing herself to the conversation either way.

When Martin finally returned, Louisa said "Martin, Joan would like to keep Phil company for a few hours, how about we head off home for a while and get some of those things done around the house that we've been unable to do while he's been home."

Taking Martin by the hand, Louisa and Martin went into Phil's play room. "Phil we are just going to be next door for a while. You can play with Grandma for a few hours, and we will be back in time to join you both for lunch" Louisa explained. Phil couldn't wait for them to leave, he loved playing with Grandma. She always gave him her undivided attention, whereas Mummy and Daddy were often too busy to be able to stop and play with him when he wanted them to.

Martin and Louisa then headed next door for a bit of 'Phil free time'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER 2**

**Project Grandchild**

An hour later, cuddled up together in bed, Martin said, "Louisa, I hope you didn't go into too much detail with Joan about our plans, I'm highly suspicious of her offer to babysit Phil this morning, while we head off to get things done. Exactly what things was she expecting us to get done?"

"I think we can safely say Martin, that you've already completed the first job on her agenda for us" said Louisa as she cuddled up closer to him. "She desperately wants another grandchild to love, and we want to give her one, so if she wants to babysit so we can achieve both of our goals, why not let her?"

"Great, and I'm supposed to go back there at lunch time, with her knowing full well, what's been going on over here", his faced turned red just at the thought.

"I wouldn't worry about it Martin, Joan's a grown woman, and she's definitely no prude".

An image floated across Martin's mind of Joan and a certain young painter with an Oedipus complex, _"creepy"_, Martin thought to himself as he shuddered as the memories came flooding back.

"Hmmph" he grunted, thinking to himself _"you don't know the half of it Louisa"._

Martin and Louisa both lay there, cuddled next to each other, both thinking their own thoughts. Louisa had been off the pill for a few months now, and was thinking that she was going to miss going into the chemists to collect her regular prescription. After the way Mrs Tishell had treated her, her evil half had almost enjoyed watching her fill out the prescription for her every few months.

Eventually Louisa said "What are you thinking Martin?" as she gently ran her hands through his short cropped hair.

She'd realised a while ago that Martin loved it when she touched him. After all of those years in boarding school, and his emotionally detached family, he'd never really had much physical affection in his life. Even Joan, whom he loved dearly wasn't a particularly demonstrative person, so whenever the opportunity arose when they were in private, she liked to keep in physical contact with him as much as possible. He still tended to be shy when out in public, and the occasional kiss and hand hold was all he was able to manage then, but in private he was always much more demonstrative.

Martin, had his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of Louisa's fingers running through his hair, he loved it when she did that, but it did make it hard for him to concentrate on anything else though. Marshalling his thoughts, Martin tried to verbalise what was on his mind, but couldn't put into words the enormous array of emotions that his wife brought out in him, and the love and devotion that he had for her, and the enormous privilege he felt to have her in his life, willing to have his baby and share the experience with him, especially after her lonely time of pregnancy that she experienced with Phil. In the end he settled for

"I was just thinking how much I…., how much I love you"Martin stammered. Louisa, by now was well and truly used to reading Martin's emotions from his body language, face and eyes, rather than his words, and the sheer love she saw in his expression, gave her just a glimpse of what he was feeling.

Pulling his face towards her, she kissed Martin with an urgency that surprised both her and him. Martin, feeling emotional himself at that particular moment, pulled Louisa to him and held her as if he would never let her go. Needless to say it was some time later before they realised that it was 2 pm and they were thoroughly late for lunch with Joan. Quickly getting up and making themselves presentable, they made the bed and rushed off to Joan's house next door.

Joan for once didn't say anything to embarrass anyone, at least not while Martin was there. Martin expecting at least one or two comments from her, was relieved to see that none appeared to be forthcoming. Joan made no mention as to the lateness of the hour, and just offered them lunch as if 2 pm was the original time mentioned for the family meal. She was however smiling broadly, hoping against all hope to herself that she might soon be a "grandma" again. She was certainly planning to do all that she could in her power to ensure that conditions were optimal for this to take place.

After enjoying their late lunch, Martin and Louisa collected Phil and they headed home. It had been a lovely day, no medical emergencies to spoil it, and some quality time alone together. As dearly as they loved their little son, it was nice occasionally to have some time to themselves. On arriving home, Louisa went into the kitchen to organise what they would be having for their meal that evening, and Phil took Martin by the hand and commandeered him for a long play session. Phil had his own little medical bag and loved playing at being Doctors, with Martin as the patient. Louisa noticed that her son's bedside manner was a lot more developed than his Father's, and couldn't help smiling to herself as she watched Phil trying to listen to Martin's heart beat, and take his temperature. Martin certainly looked a lot more uncomfortable being on the receiving end of a Doctor's consultation.

After their evening meal, Martin was relegated to bath duty while Louisa cleaned up the kitchen. Phil loved bath time, and if he had a choice he always preferred to have Daddy watch over him than anybody else. Martin always pretended it was a chore, but Louisa knew he secretly loved this time of the day, and she often walked past the bathroom to hear her two men having deep discussions on various topics.

This evening she heard Phil saying "What's a garlic Daddy?"

"A garlic?" Martin said in a puzzled voice.

"Yes a garlic!" Wondering where the topic had come from, Martin explained that

"A garlic is a bit like an onion and it is used in cooking. It also has many medicinal properties". Phil nodded his head sagely and said

"Our vacuum cleaner's like a garlic". This totally threw Martin for a few seconds.

"Why is our vacuum cleaner like a garlic? It doesn't look like an onion does it?" Martin was totally puzzled now, Phil disliked their vacuum cleaner intensely and was quite scared of the loud noise it made and its robot like shape. In fact, they had to take Phil next door to Joan, before they could even bring it out of it's cupboard.

"You and Mummy said it looked like a garlic" Phil said dogmatically.

Thinking back to their previous discussions regarding the vacuum cleaner and Phil's fear of it, Phil's comment finally made sense.

"I think you mean a Dalek, Phil, not a garlic, Mummy and I have occasionally said that the vacuum cleaner looks like a Dalek".

"Ohh" said Phil. "What's a Dalek Daddy?".

"It's a type of scary pretend robot from a T.V. show that Mummy likes to watch, there isn't really such a thing as a Dalek, it's make believe".

"Oh" said Phil, as he digested this piece of information. Louisa who was in the hallway near the bathroom, had heard all of this. She was now laughing silently, with tears streaming down her face as she hurried away so as not to be heard by Phil and Martin. That evening, after Phil was asleep, Martin and Louisa went into their family room to watch some T.V. and relax. They both sat on the long, leather 3 seater sofa, with Louisa cuddled into Martin's side, and his arm wrapped around her. With the T.V. playing softly in the background, Louisa mentioned how she had heard about the garlic episode. Martin smiled softly to himself as Louisa burst into laughter one more time, remembering it.

"He is a beautiful child, isn't he Martin?"

"He takes after his beautiful mother" said Martin, finally managing to express some of his feelings, without messing up what he meant to say in the process.

Louisa didn't often manage to hear Martin's feelings put so eloquently into words, and when it did happen on rare occasions, she couldn't help but be moved.

"Oh Martin, I do love you. I think Phil is lucky to have you as his Father, and I'm a very lucky woman to have you as my husband. I'm looking forward to having another child with you, and this time you'll be able to experience the wonder and joy of the pregnancy with me."

The vision of Louisa pregnant once again with his child, and him being a part of the pregnancy, was almost too much for Martin to absorb. He had lived such a miserable life for so long, and now he was so happy and contented, he didn't feel that he could take in any more happiness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER 3**

**All is not as it seems.**

Phil must have been tired out from his visit with Joan, as he managed to sleep through the night, only disturbing them at 6:30am, when both Martin and Louisa were rising to meet the day.

Martin prepared breakfast as per usual, while Louisa got Phil dressed. After breakfast, Louisa dropped Phil off at Joan's house, and came back to gather her things ready to head off for work.

"Did you want to meet up for lunch Martin?" Louisa asked. "I can meet you at the surgery if you're free".

"That should be fine" agreed Martin, as he gave her a kiss goodbye and headed off to get his car. Although their house was walking distance from the surgery, he liked to have his car handy at all times in case of a medical emergency.

Martin's car may be a Lexus on the outside, but the inside now looked like the average family car. Baby seat in the back, a container of baby wipes, spare children's underwear and a change of clothes in the glove box and last but not least, the CD stacker filled with various children's music including CDs ranging from the Wiggles, to standard nursery rhymes. Martin was so used to having Phil's music playing now, that he didn't always remember to switch to the radio when he was alone in the car. Louisa always made a point of singing along with Phil, in order to help him learn his nursery rhymes, and help him with his grammar and pronunciation, and occasionally when he wasn't thinking about it, he was known to join in.

So with his mind on other things, Martin was now driving to the petrol station, with his car in gear and his brain in neutral, singing along to the Wiggles out of habit. When the car stopped at the petrol station, with the window down, all who were currently filling up their cars were treated to the sight of the Doc singing along to "Toot toot chugga chugga big red car" totally oblivious to what he was doing.

"Totally Bodmin he is", said one of the locals, as Martin popped his petrol cap, and removed his keys from the ignition. As he went to the pump, he finally noticed that everyone was staring at him. Wondering what was wrong with the villagers now, but not really caring, Martin started to fill up his petrol tank.

"Nice morning Doc" said Bert who happened to be filling up his van that morning.

"Mmm" said Martin, not really feeling like engaging in conversation, as he had things on his mind.

"I like your CD" said Bert. "The singing was good too". In fact Bert was quite surprised to note that Martin actually had a very nice singing voice. He must let Roger Fenn know for the next talent night, maybe Roger could get Louisa to persuade the Doc to sing for them.

"What are you talking about Bert?" said Martin, trying to remember what he had been listening to.

"I only meant, that I enjoyed hearing the music playing on your fancy CD player in your car, and you were singing along with it too".

"Was I? Don't be silly, I can't remember singing along to anything of the sort" said Martin, now thoroughly disgruntled. Martin finished filling up his car, then went in to pay for his fuel. Nice music Doc, said the attendant grinning broadly.

By this stage, Martin had, had enough, so he quickly paid, and went back out to his car. He started his engine, and put on his seatbelt. He was just about to drive off when the CD player came online, and he finally realised what song he had been listening to, and apparently singing along with. Red faced, he drove off, promising himself that he needed to have at least 1 CD in the stacker that was his and not Phil's.

As he walked into the surgery, Pauline greeted him with a laugh. "I hear you've been listening to a wonderful CD Doc, where can I get a copy? If it makes you want to sing along to it, I definitely want one."

Martin grunted, went into his consultation room and slammed the door. News travels faster than the speed of light around here, he thought to himself, what an embarrassing start to the morning. However after a thoroughly relaxing weekend, he wasn't as upset as he would normally have been, and he still had his lunch date with Louisa to look forward to.

Two hypochondriacs, three skin conditions, and a suspicious mole check, one ingrown toenail, a case of gout, a sprained ankle, and the Fenn's twins check up later, and Martin was ready for lunch. The surgery was finally empty, and Al had come and taken Pauline out with him.

Peace at last, Martin went into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee for himself, leaving plenty of hot water available to make one for Louisa when she arrived. He had just sat down and started to drink when the kitchen door opened and Louisa came in with some sandwiches that she'd picked up for them on her way over to the surgery. As Louisa distributed the sandwiches, Martin made her a fresh cup of coffee.

"How was your morning?" Martin asked her.

"Quite busy actually, the second graders went off to an excursion, I had some trouble makers sent to my office as they had been bullying other children, and I had an urgent report that I needed to complete. Fingers crossed, that I'm now up to date and nothing dire is happening back at the school for me to deal with when I return. I am now just looking forward to a nice, peaceful lunch. How about you, how was your morning?"

"Just routine consultations today, nothing out of the ordinary, however I've discovered that I do need to remove at least one of Phil's CDs from my CD stacker in the car and put some civilized adult music in to replace it. This morning, I was thinking of other things and found myself subconsciously singing along to Phil's favourite Wiggles CD – you know, that "_Toot Toot Chugga Chugga_" song he likes so much. Although I don't mind either of you hearing me sing that infantile song, I didn't plan on giving a rendition to all of the villagers at the petrol station!"

Louisa just looked at Martin and laughed. "Oh Martin, I've done the same thing so many times myself, and I can just see it in my mind's eye. It's so embarrassing isn't it!" Getting up from her chair Louisa came and sat on Martin's lap and gave him a small kiss of commiseration.

"You do realise, that if we do manage to get pregnant again, there will be years of '_Toot toot, Chugga Chugging_' our way through Port Wenn don't you!"

"It will be worth it" said Martin.

"Let the villagers laugh, what do we care! We have Phil, and hopefully soon we may have another child" said Louisa.

Martin kissed Louisa again, he also happened to lean back on his chair. The combined weight of the two of them then caused a chair leg to collapse and they both ended up on the floor, with Martin's cup of coffee falling off the table onto both of them.

"Are you alright?" Martin asked Louisa concernedly.

"I'm fine Martin, but my clothes are thoroughly stained"

"From memory, you still have a change of clothes or two upstairs in our old room, and so do I".

"Good thinking Martin" said Louisa as they made their way up the stairs to get changed.

Martin found a fresh shirt and suit, and Louisa managed to find a dress and matching cardigan. Looking at his watch Martin said, we've got half an hour left for you to get back to school and me to tidy up the kitchen. Louisa was still battling with her zip as they were walking down the stairs as the zip was quite long, and zipped up in the back.

"Martin can you help me with my zip please? It's too hard for me to get to" she said as they continued down the stairs.

Martin asked her to stop a moment while he attempted to get some hair that was stuck in the zip, out of the way so he could finish doing the dress up. Unfortunately Pauline and Al chose this precise moment to enter through the kitchen and come into the surgery waiting area. Looking up they saw Martin doing up Louisa's zip and wearing a totally new set of clothes from the morning.

"Well I suppose we can guess what happened to the kitchen chair, can't we Al?" said Pauline as she looked at Martin and Louisa.

"What are you talking about Pauline?" said Martin.

"I mean, Al and I leave you alone for an hour, we come back to find a broken chair, and you returning from your bedroom in a new set of clothes with your wife, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you two have been up to, honestly Doc, couldn't you wait until you were at your own house, I mean I have to work here, and I eat on that table!" laughed Pauline.

"Actually Pauline, we spilt coffee on our clothes, so we were just changing into spare clothes as the other ones were stained", explained Louisa. "Nothing out of the ordinary has been going on, I assure you", Louisa continued.

"Then how did the chair get broken?" said Pauline.

Martin had turned a rich shade of red by this stage and Al judged it a wise move to get Pauline out of the way and back at her desk

"Come on Pauline, time for you to get back to work, I've got to get back to the restaurant. See you later Doc, Louisa" Al said as he waved goodbye to Pauline and left through the front door.

"I need to be off too Martin, said Louisa as she kissed him goodbye and headed back to the school".

By that evening, it was all over the village how the Doc and Louisa had met for lunch at the surgery, how they'd gone in wearing one set of clothes, and come out in another set, along with a chair being broken. A lot of sly looks were being sent their way for the rest of the week.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**He didn't get that from my side of the family**

Joan was enjoying her extra time with Phil. She and Phil had now started "Introduction to music" classes with Roger Fenn, who was now supplementing his income by teaching basic music principles to young children not yet attending school. Phil loved the classes, and Joan was enjoying participating as well. She and Phil thoroughly enjoyed this time together, and afterwards it had become their routine to pop into the local shops and buy themselves a chocolate bar to eat on their way home. Martin, was not very happy when he found out that Phil had been adding chocolate bars to his diet.

"I want you to remember Phil, that chocolate bars are only for an occasional treat, too many are bad for your teeth and can cause you to become overweight".

"What's overweight Daddy?" replied his little son.

"Fat like Mr Large", said Martin, with his usual lack of diplomacy.

"OK Daddy, I'll remember, I don't want to get fat like Mr Large" said Phil in a serious little voice.

Nothing much more was said on the topic, and Martin soon forgot all about their conversation. As it turned out, Phil hadn't.

After attending their next music session, Joan and Phil went to the shops as per usual, and as soon as Joan headed for the chocolate bar aisle, Phil said

"We shouldn't have chocolate Grandma, it can make you fat!" said Phil.

"Just a little bar, as a treat is fine Phil" said Joan.

"We don't want to get fat Grandma" said Phil in a louder voice.

"We won't get fat if we only have a small bar occasionally" said Joan.

"Don't have one Aunty Joan, you'll get fat like Mr Large!" said Phil, almost beside himself by this stage.

Joan, thoroughly embarrassed by now, bought them both a banana each and hurried out of the shop, only to see Bert Large a few metres ahead of them, obviously making a quick getaway, having overheard the whole conversation.

Joan vowed to herself that she would never buy chocolate with Phil present ever again.

That afternoon, when Louisa retrieved Phil, Joan recounted the story in detail. Louisa trying not to laugh, pointed out to Phil that he was correct in that chocolate is bad for you if you eat too much, but that he had hurt Mr Large's feelings by saying he was fat. Phil, who was very fond of Bert, was very sorry, and promised not to say that he was fat again.

The following day, Joan and Phil popped into the shops to buy some flour so Joan could make some more cakes for Phil. However as soon as they passed the chocolate aisle, a little voice could be heard saying

"Remember not to buy chocolate Grandma, it's bad for you, and you don't want to get fat".

"I'm not buying chocolate Phil, it's OK, we're here to buy flour for your cake aren't we?"

"Yes Grandma, but remember, not to buy chocolate won't you, I don't want you to get fat!"

Finally Joan located the flour and paid for it. Then, taking Phil by the hand, she made as dignified an exit as possible before heading home.

By taking Phil with her this morning, she had managed to give Martin and Louisa a Phil Free hour to themselves, and after the embarrassing time she'd had, she hoped they had appreciated it, and made appropriate use of the time. As embarrassing as the morning had been, Joan still desperately wanted more 'grandchildren', and hoped she wouldn't have to wait too long before one was on the way.

As they approached home, Joan noticed a "sold" sign on the house across the street that had been vacant for months. Being a larger house, its price range was above that which most of the villagers could hope to ever afford. Musing to herself as to who might have bought the house, Joan knocked on Martin and Louisa's door and waited to be let in.

When Louisa opened the door for her, she said "You've got your own key Joan, no need to knock".

"I prefer to knock" said Joan. _Thinking to herself that she wouldn't want to walk in on anything, especially after the recent incident involving Martin and Louisa leaving the surgery in different clothes than when they had entered at lunch time. It didn't take a genius to work out what had been going on then._

"Whatever suits you Joan, is fine with me" Louisa replied.

"By the way", said Joan. Have you bought your tickets yet for the mini concert that Roger Fenn has the children preparing for from his class. Phil's been practicing hard, and loves singing into the microphone. In the last practice, he was the only one singing and the others looked like they were his backup singers, it was a sight for sore eyes, I'm telling you".

"Yes I've bought tickets for all of us, and we can't wait to see Phil performing. Martin has made sure that he isn't on duty that weekend, and we're all ready to see the final performance", said Louisa enthusiastically.

It was the day of Phil's final rehearsal with the rest of his music class at 1:00pm on Friday afternoon. He turned up with not only Joan, but Martin and Louisa in tow to watch the kids perform before the big day, both of them having taken a late, and extended lunch break for the occasion.

Roger came up to them all, and holding out his hand to shake Martin's he said

"Great to see you all, so glad you could make the dress rehearsal. Unfortunately two of the children are sick today, so the numbers will be smaller than planned but I'm sure Phil will do a wonderful job as per usual".

"But if some of the children are sick Mr Fenn, then who will be my backup singers? I need backup singers!" said Phil worriedly.

Martin, Louisa and Joan laughed in embarrassment and Roger knelt down to Phil's eye level and said.

"Don't you worry mate, you'll be fine, there are plenty of other children left to help with the singing."

Martin, Louisa and Joan then sat down at the back of the room. "I'm looking forward to seeing them perform, aren't you Martin?" said Louisa eagerly

"Yes, according to Aunty Joan, he really loves this class, and can't wait for us to hear him sing", said Martin relaxing at the back of the room, with his hand discretely tucked in Louisa's.

Joan's eyes shone as Phil and the other children noisily clambered into a group around the two microphones. Roger started to play a piano accompaniment and the children all stepped away from the microphones except Phil, who was practically kissing it, he was so close as he sang the two songs, word perfect from start to finish. It was very cute to watch, and he did look just like a soloist with his very own backup singers, who just happened to not be doing too much in the way of singing.

"I wonder where he gets his extrovert personality from" said Martin. It's certainly not me.

"Well it's not from me either" said Louisa, you wouldn't catch me up on stage, happy to sing in front of a group of people. Maybe he's a throwback from one of his grandparents".

Martin, thinking of his father, and how happy he was to 'perform' in front of a group of people, usually at Martin's expense, then had a horrible feeling that Phil's extrovert nature may indeed have come from his side of the family.

After the session, Martin, Louisa and Joan were walking to their car when they passed Roger who had now got the twins settled in the back seat and was now about to close the back door and walk around to the driver's seat.

Phil looked into the car, and said "Excuse me Mr Fenn, your car is filthy".

"Phil, how rude" said Louisa in great embarrassment. Mr Fenn's car is a lot cleaner than mine, and you're the one that made my car filthy with all of your toys, and snacks and things. I'm so sorry Roger, I say that about my car all of the time, and I think Phil is just repeating it".

"Don't worry about it Louisa" said Roger. "I suppose it does need a clean Phil, I'll have to see what I can do" said Roger with a laugh as he waved goodbye to them and got into the driver's seat and headed off home.

While sitting in the car, Louisa said to Phil "That wasn't a very nice thing to say to Mr Fenn, Phil. You probably hurt his feelings. If people's cars are dirty you mustn't say anything to them, as they may not have had time to clean them, or there could be lots of reasons for it. If you tell people things like that, you can embarrass them and make them feel sad".

"I'm sorry Mummy", said Phil.

"I didn't want to make Mr Fenn feel sad, I won't say it again", said Phil with genuine contrition.

"It's OK Phil, " said Louisa

"Mr Fenn, will forgive you" especially as you did such a wonderful job at your singing practice today.

"Yes he did, didn't he" said Joan, who was catching a lift home with them.

"He certainly did" said Martin who had now stopped in front of the school to drop Louisa off. Louisa kissed Martin goodbye, then got out of the car and headed into the school building. Martin then dropped Joan and Phil back at Joan's house and headed back to work.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**New Neighbour**

When Martin arrived home that evening, Louisa mentioned that the house across the road was now occupied. "They must have moved in during the day while we were both at work. I've seen the lights on, but not come across the new owner or owners yet, no doubt we'll meet them sooner or later".

Martin wasn't particularly interested in the new neighbours, but hoped that whoever they were, kept themselves to themselves, and weren't annoying like the Oakwood family who moved in next door to Louisa all of those years ago. This evening was Louisa's turn to cook the dinner and Martin was on bath time duties with Phil. As dinner time approached Martin said "time to finish up Phil, it's nearly dinner time".

"But I'm still playing Daddy; can I keep playing for a little while?"

"I'm afraid we've run out of time Phil, Mummy's waiting for us".

"But I've got some spare time; my brain gave it to me. We could use some of that "said Phil earnestly.

"I'm afraid spare time doesn't quite work like that Phil, and we don't want to make Mummy sad after she has spent all of that time making us dinner".

"I guess so" said Phil as he slowly got out, and walked into the towel that Martin was holding out to him.

Ten minutes later Phil was dressed and everyone was seated around the dining table having their meal.

From across the road, the silhouettes of the three of them could easily be seen by the new neighbour, who was sitting in their darkened bedroom, watching them intently as they ate their meal, then followed their movements as Martin cleaned up and did the dishes, while Louisa took her turn at putting Phil to bed.

The pattern of their evenings was played out as they finished their respective duties and then joined each other in the living room to watch TV. Here their watcher was foiled, as the lighting was dimmed as Martin and Louisa watched an old movie as they snuggled up together on the sofa.

An hour later, still watching through the window, he noticed their bedroom light come on. Thick curtains in Martin and Louisa's bedroom window provided privacy from the watching eyes, but the light in the room did at least show the watcher they were there.

Eventually their light went out and the watcher went to sleep also, waiting to observe their routine tomorrow.

It was Saturday morning, the day of Phil's music concert. It was scheduled to start at 2pm which worked out well, allowing Martin time to arrive home from his morning surgery, have lunch and be able to go with the family, rather than meet everyone there at the hall.

Phil was a very excited little boy all morning, and was driving Louisa to distraction.

"Is it time yet Mummy?"

"No Phil, you've got several hours to go yet" said Louisa

"What can we do while we're waiting?" Phil asked, unable to settle at anything.

"How about we walk over and visit Grandma for morning tea" said Louisa.

"Yes, yes, let's go see Grandma" said Phil excitedly, pulling Louisa by the hand, straight towards the door.

"Wait a moment Phil, I need my bag first, or we won't be able to get back into our house later, you wouldn't want that would you?" said Louisa. "OK, let's go, she said as she found her bag and they headed to the front door".

As Louisa turned to lock the door, she missed seeing the curtains twitch in the house across the road. Taking Phil by the hand, she led him next door to visit Joan, all the while oblivious to the fact that they were being observed.

After morning tea, Joan joined Louisa and Phil as they walked back to the house to prepare lunch for themselves and Martin. The watcher's sad eyes took note of all of this.

As Louisa was opening the door with her key, a little red Peugeot 206 drove into the driveway of the house across the road. A short lady, most likely in her seventies got out. She gave a friendly wave in their direction, and then removed a box of groceries from the passenger seat of her car. Closing the car door behind her, she walked up to the front door of the house and entered with a key.

"She seems nice enough" Louisa said to Joan. "Looks like she must be our new neighbour, she did have a key after all, so probably isn't a visitor. I must have a chat with her and introduce myself later on".

Soon the lady in the red car was forgotten, as Martin arrived home from work, everyone needed to eat their lunch and Phil needed to get changed into his good clothes ready for his concert.

As it was a lovely sunny day, and they had time, they decided to walk to the hall. Martin and Louisa walked holding hands, and Phil held Joan's hand. They made a lovely sight as they walked up the road, and this was not missed by their new neighbour. The lady in the red car had left an hour ago, leaving him free to watch from behind his lace curtains once again with a stray tear dropping from his eyes. As he watched, he was thinking what a united family group the picture represented, and tried to think back to a time when he was part of such a family scene, and couldn't.

Later in the afternoon, they returned. Phil proudly holding his certificate to his chest, talking non-stop about the activities of the afternoon. Louisa leaned her head against Martin's side listening to her young son as Martin wrapped his left arm around her back while they walked. None of them realising that they were of such burning interest to their new neighbour.

Being tired after his big concert, Phil was allowed some down time watching one of his DVDs while Louisa prepared dinner. Martin sat with Phil, and allowed him to choose a DVD. It wasn't often that Martin had time to sit and watch a TV show with him, so was looking forward to some Father and Son time.

Eventually Phil chose his DVD, and Martin put it into the player for him. A few minutes later, Louisa came into the family room to see Martin looking in horrified stupefaction at the program on T.V. that Phil was sitting glued to. Louisa came and sat next to him, cuddling into his side. What's the problem Martin? Haven't you seen "In The Night Garden" before?

"Louisa, I have been sitting in front of this program for several minutes now, and as far as I can tell there is no plot to this story. That funny air balloon thing could do with some activated charcoal to relieve it of its flatulence, and the rest of the characters seriously need to attend speech therapy. The scary thing is that Phil is engrossed in it. I keep watching it, in the hope that I may eventually discover a plot! What can he possibly see in it?"

"I think it's the bright coloured characters and the music more than anything else. He is starting to lose interest in it now, but for a while he was fixated on it. At least now, if he talks to you about Ninky Nonks and Pinky Ponks, you'll know what he's discussing "said Louisa with a smile as she got back up to return to the kitchen to stir some food she'd left cooking.

Half an hour later, Louisa came out to tell her men that dinner was ready. Phil got up and went to wash his hands, Martin however said "I'll be there in a minute" as he continued to stare fixedly at the screen.

"Martin, look at yourself! You're watching "The Night Garden", what is so important that dinner needs to wait on it?"

Martin stopped for a second, looked at the program, and realised what he was doing, "Uhh, umm, yes, you're quite right. I just can't get over the fact that there's no plot. Surely a plot must appear at some stage" he mumbled to himself as he got up to wash his hands, looking over his shoulder at the program as he left the room.

Louisa turned off the DVD, to avoid any further distraction to her husband and went to help Phil to seat himself at the table. As they ate, Phil explained the plot of the story from the DVD to Martin. Louisa helped him to explain all of the intricacies of the program, and assured Martin that if he had any further questions, that Joan was an expert on the program as well and could no doubt set him straight on any further questions he might have.

After Phil's long day, he fell asleep earlier than usual, so Martin and Louisa were able to have an early night. "I really enjoyed today Martin, I'm glad the concert was in the afternoon so that we could all go together" said Louisa with a smile, as she stood in front of the window brushing her hair.

"I really enjoyed it too" said Martin. "It was also very educational, who knew that Aunty Joan was an expert on "Pinky Ponks" and "Ninky Nonks" He then came up to Louisa and took the brush from her hand as he gathered her into a close embrace. They stood like that for quite a while, just enjoying being held by each other. Eventually Martin, led Louisa to the bed, and the light was extinguished; their embrace however, had not gone unnoticed.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

**Past and Present**

Martin and Louisa woke up to a lovely sunny day, so after breakfast they started on some much needed work in the garden.

Louisa was weeding out in the front garden while Martin and his little assistant were out in the back doing some much needed tidying up. Louisa had at least managed to get Martin into an old pair of suit trousers, and one of his oldest business shirts and she had absolutely forbidden him to wear a tie. One of these days, she really must try to get him to buy himself a pair of jeans.

She had been working steadily for half an hour, when the red Peugeot drove up again. _"That's strange´ _Louisa thought to herself. _"She has keys, yet doesn't seem to live there"_. After the car had stopped, the same lady got out of the front seat. This time she crossed the street to come and introduce herself.

"I see you're making the most of this lovely day" she said.

"Yes" said Louisa. "One of those jobs that has needed doing for ages, but never seems to get done. My name is Louisa by the way".

"Hi, I'm Shirley, lovely to meet you. I'm a friend of your new neighbour".

"Yes, I see that the house is now occupied, but we've not seen anything of the new owner".

"You probably won't for a little while yet. He's still convalescing after a major car accident both mentally and physically. It's a very sad story really. He and his friend were driving in the city when they had a major collision with another car. Unfortunately there was an explosion and his friend burned to death, and he escaped with major burns to his left side of his body, from face to feet and multiple broken bones.

He's had a rough time of it lately, no visitors to see him in the hospital and no friends. He finally broke down one day as I was doing my rounds as a volunteer in the hospital. Apparently he's lost contact with all of his family, and all of his so called friends turned out to be quite superficial and want nothing more to do with him now that he is no longer a high flyer with good looks to match.

He's told me how his current situation is his own fault, apparently he wasn't much of a husband, father or brother, how he'd always lived for social status and material possessions, and now that he's finally seen the error of his ways, and is truly sorry for the absolute pig he's been in his life. Sadly it appears to be too late as his family will have nothing to do with him, quite a sad story really.

Apparently his family live quite close by somewhere, but he hasn't told me where. He said that at least he's near them, even if they don't know of his presence. It's a shame the mess that some people make of theirs and other people's lives isn't it? And that it can take such a situation as this to make people see what's really of value in life. I hope he eventually does contact his family to apologise, but I think he's too ashamed of his past behaviour and doesn't believe he's able to be forgiven.

In his head I think he feels that if he can't be loved by his family when he's successful and handsome, why would they love him when he's crippled and disfigured. Oh well, I'd better get back and take him his shopping, and other necessities and keep him company for a while. Nice talking to you Louisa" Shirley said as she gave a little wave and crossed back to her car and removed a box of groceries from the front seat.

Louisa, touched by the story went to find Martin to tell him what she'd learned about their mysterious neighbour. "So it looks like we have a very sad and embittered old man living across the road. It's a shame he has no family support if he's that badly injured. No doubt you'll be seeing him in your surgery at some stage Martin".

"Quite possibly, but I've not had any new patients register recently. He may still be seeing specialists if he's that badly injured" replied Martin as he watched Phil watering plants with his little watering can in the distance. "I wouldn't go feeling too sorry for him Louisa, sounds like he wasn't worth knowing when things were going well for him, and he is now just feeling sorry for himself now that things have fallen in a heap."

Knowing that Martin had strong feelings on this situation, particularly concerning his own childhood, Louisa refrained from continuing with the conversation and instead said it was time for some morning tea. Being Sunday they were invited to join Joan as per usual, so after cleaning themselves up a bit, they headed next door for another one of Joan's lovely cakes.

After a while, Phil went into his playroom, taking Martin with him as he wanted some help with a particular jig saw on dinosaurs that he wanted Daddy to do with him.

Louisa and Joan, chatted on about various things, and after a while Louisa said "Oh I almost forgot", I spoke to the lady in the red Peugeot today, you know the one that comes regularly to visit our new neighbour, and she told me all about him".

Joan listened, as Louisa recounted the whole story. "Sounds a bit like he got what he deserved in some respects. I mean the lack of family support, that is. Not the burns and broken bones, I wouldn't wish that on to anyone" said Joan.

"I suppose you're right really" said Louisa, but still, I do feel sorry for anyone without any family to speak of. I know what it's like to be alone, as do the rest of us, and it's a very scary feeling at times. I know Martin has certainly suffered from being alone for most of his life, his only lifeline was his time spent with you and Phil, and then when that stopped too, I hate to think of how he must have felt. His parents certainly have a lot to answer for. It's only now, that he's beginning to recover a bit from that part of his life."

"You've certainly made all the difference," Louisa. "Since his marriage, he's softened so much, and he's really blossomed into fatherhood, which is amazing considering his own father was a waste of space, fortunately he had my husband Phil for a while, but not long enough sadly", said Joan. "Look, you've done enough work for the morning, why don't you leave Phil here for a while, and head off home to get some more things done around the house without Phil to help?" said Joan.

Louisa, knowing exactly what Joan had in mind, gave her a slight smile and went to talk to Phil and Martin.

Later that morning, cuddled up together in bed, Louisa asked Martin if the story of the stranger across the road had bothered him at all. He'd been very quiet since she'd mentioned it, and she was beginning to worry about him.

"I was just trying to imagine what it would be like to have my Father suddenly change and become worth knowing, and whether I could ever trust him enough to give him a second chance. As far as I'm concerned, Uncle Phil was the closest thing to a Dad that I've ever had, and nobody else has ever come close to that. I don't even know why I'm wasting time thinking about it, it's not as if it will ever happen anyway" said Martin. Shaking his head, as if to clear these thoughts he gathered Louisa into his arms and said "I have you in my life, and I have Phil and Joan, that's more than I could ever want or need". Holding Louisa close, he then proceeded to prove to her, just how much she meant to him.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Progress Report**

Some time later, Louisa and Martin sauntered back over to Joan's house and joined her and Phil for lunch. Joan looked at Louisa and Martin, and judging by their relaxed manner, and smiles on their faces she figured they had probably put the last few hours to good use.

"That was a delicious meal Joan" said Louisa, as she helped Joan with the washing up, while Martin and Phil played with Phil's train set in the other room. "Thank you once again for cooking lunch and babysitting Phil for a few hours".

"It was my pleasure", said Joan.

"So, just between you and me, how are things going? Any luck yet with my second grandchild?"

"Not yet. Don't worry Joan, you'll be the first to know after myself and Martin if I fall pregnant, I promise" said Louisa with a laugh.

"Because I can always do some more babysitting, if you need more time together".

"We're fine Joan, you do enough babysitting as it is, and we do occasionally need to see Phil or he'll begin to wonder who we are" said Louisa with a smile.

"Well if you're sure," said Joan. "Only Martin's not getting any younger, and there's no time to waste", Joan started to look worried at the thought of this.

"It's OK Joan, I don't think either Martin or I have reached our _'use by'_ date yet. There's still life in us yet" said Louisa trying to think of something to change the subject.

"So, Martin's told me a bit about his Father and your brother. I've never met him of course, but by all accounts he was a terrible father, and not much better as a husband or brother. I was thinking of the situation our new neighbour was in, and wondering if you'd ever forgive your brother if he had a change of heart and really meant it?"

"Now there's a thought" said Joan. "Christopher and I never really saw eye to eye on anything, he was always so caught up in being rich, and successful in his career, and in his possessions. He never appreciated anything he had, and always coveted what everyone else had. His marriage to a social parasite didn't help either, I doubt that she ever loved him, but there must have been some chemistry between them as they managed to stay together for so long. Mind you, he probably wasn't faithful to her, or her to him for that matter".

"He never really hurt me as much as he damaged Martin though. We were of a similar age, were loved equally by our parents and he had no power over me. So if he was to realise the errors of his ways, and truly changed for the better, then I imagine after some time of him proving himself to me, I could probably forgive him for what he's done to me. I don't think I can ever forgive him, for the damage he's done to Martin though. He was privileged enough to have a child, and he all but discarded him as soon as he could, by sending him to boarding schools and then to me during the holidays as he couldn't be bothered with him".

"It suited me as we loved having Martin, especially as we had no children of our own, but I hated seeing the effect that horrible boarding school had on him. Each time he came to stay with us, he was more and more withdrawn. Someone with a weaker character would never have made it through the same situation without breaking. As it was, there has been years of damage that time will never be able to completely undo".

"If you ever meet my brother Louisa, don't be fooled by his charm and good looks. He's a selfish individual without a care for anyone but himself. He's probably busy living the high life in London somewhere for all I know. The last I heard he was doing surgery again, and surgeons do get paid a high wage, a few decent investments and he should be up and running again, even after his divorce. He's probably dating some young thing, young enough to be his daughter too, judging from my knowledge of his tastes" said Joan with a grim little smile.

"I never realised just how selfish he was, even though I knew he was pretty bad. Don't worry Joan, he'll have to get through me first if he wants to have anything at all to do with Martin. I won't allow him to mess with Martin's emotions again unless he has had a true change of heart and I can be absolutely sure of it. If he did have a change of heart though, I have a feeling that Martin would secretly love to be reconciled to his dad if he ever reformed. It's a relationship that he has naturally yearned for all of his life and of course never had. Oh well it's all hypothetical anyway, as you say. He is probably busy living a society lifestyle in London somewhere".

After finishing drying and putting away the dishes, Louisa and Joan sat back down at the table with a cup of tea each. Phil and Martin soon joined them. "Would you like a cup of tea or coffee Marty?" said Joan

"I'll have a tea please Auntie Joan" said Martin/

"Can I have some milk please Grandma?" said Phil.

"You certainly can Phil" said Joan. "What lovely manners you have today".

Joan soon returned with a tray containing Martin's tea, Phil's milk and the remainder of the cake she'd made especially for today.

"Can I have some more cake please mummy?" said Phil

"I'm surprised you can fit anything else in Phil after all you ate at lunch today" said Louisa.

"I've got a little bit of room left up here" said Phil pointing to a spot near his right shoulder. "My lunch went to my stomach from here and my drink went in this hole here" said Phil pointing to various locations in the area of his stomach.

"OK then, if you're sure you've still got some space for the cake left" said Louisa smiling as she passed him a piece of cake.

Martin as usual declined the treat as it was not optimally nutritious. After helping Joan tidy up after their snack, Martin Louisa and Phil headed back home to continue cleaning up the back garden until it was time to go in and make their evening meal.

This time Martin cooked, while Louisa took Phil upstairs for his bath time. Phil had lots of bath toys, and loved to make up stories for them as he had his bath. Today his toys got a bit boisterous in the story and Louisa ended up getting hit by a large splash of water, thoroughly drenching her white top. Calling bath time to an end, she got Phil out of the bath and dressed, then took him downstairs to Martin.

"Martin he is all yours. I need to get changed as I'm drenched" said Louisa. Martin turned to Louisa and observed her now thoroughly wet top.

"Do you need any help with that?" he said with a suggestive look.

"Somehow I don't think you'd be all that helpful" Louisa said as she headed upstairs to change her clothes.

If Phil hadn't been present at the time, Martin would have shown her just how helpful he could be in such situations. Oh well, he still had tonight after Phil was in bed after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**Disturbing News**

The next day started off the same as any other Monday. Joan babysat Phil, and Louisa and Martin went off to work. The morning and early afternoon also followed their regular schedules. It was when the mail arrived that things became a bit more interesting. Phil was busy playing in his play room, with Joan watching him from her comfortable arm chair. After collecting the mail from Dave, she sat back down to check which bills had arrived.

Things were so much easier now that she wasn't on the farm, at least now she could afford to pay her bills, and the strain of having to make ends meet was no longer such as stress, especially as Martin and Louisa paid her a very fair allowance for babysitting Phil all of the time. As they pointed out to her, they'd have to pay someone to do it if she wasn't available, so they may as well pay her. After all, they couldn't work to earn their incomes if she wasn't looking after Phil, so Joan was more than happy to accept her allowance, and everyone was pleased with the situation.

As usual, her mail for the day consisted mainly of bills, except for one letter post marked from Truro. Opening the letter she saw several typed sheets. Curious now she sat down to read, and after completely reading the missive, she was glad she was sitting down, as she was very disturbed by the contents. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the first page, and read it again.

_Dear Joanie,_

_Please accept my humble apologies, I've been unconscionably arrogant for all of my life and I wish to apologise to you from the depths of my heart._

_As your brother, I have failed abysmally. Not only have I scoffed at you, belittled you and ignored you, when my own life fell down around my ears due to my own stupidity, I tried to take from you what was rightly yours to get myself out of my own mess, regardless of any hardship it might have meant for you._

_I have also held my son over your head as a bribe, and interfered in your life, knowing that you would do anything to keep your contact with Martin. Not only was this a reprehensible act on my part against you, it was below despicable when I now look back and see how this affected Martin on so many levels._

_I am not fit to be called a father, I have blamed Martin all of his life for being born, yet it was not any of his doing. I expected him to be just like me, and now looking back, I thank my lucky stars that he grew up to be nothing at all like me. _

_I shut him away in a boarding school as soon as I could find one to take him, and sent him on to you during school breaks. No wonder he sees you as his parent, and despises me. I find in my heart that I can not blame him._

_I suppose you're wondering why I am writing to you, and what I'm trying to get out of you now, and I find that I can't blame you for that either._

_Recently I went through a life changing experience which caused me to stop, and take stock of my life. I was in an accident, and as I recovered in hospital with no friends, no family to visit, I realised that I meant absolutely nothing to anyone. No wife who cared, no sister and no son who even knew I was injured, let alone would care less when they found out that I was. _

_I am truly sorry Joanie for all of the hurt I've caused you and Martin and I mean to do all that I can to make it up to you. I realise that I can never do so, but my aim in life is to try. My first intention is to pay Martin back all of the money he paid to me to stop me destroying your life. If you have no objections, I'd like to stay in communication with you by letter and phone. I can't imagine that you'd be willing to see me, and I won't ask or expect it of you, but if you wouldn't mind sparing some time occasionally to talk to me on the phone, I would be in your debt._

_Your contrite, and very poor excuse for a brother,_

_Chris (I no longer go by the name Christopher, as I hope that I am now a new person and as such, go by a new name)_

_P.S. I will also be writing to Martin to apologise to him for the horrible things I've put him through all of his life._

Joan looked at her watch, it was 3:15 pm. She quickly went to her phone and called Louisa's mobile number. Louisa picked up after the third ring.

"Hello, Louisa speaking"

"Hello Louisa, it's Joan".

"Joan, is everything alright, is Phil OK?" she said worriedly

"Phil's fine" said Joan " But I think Martin may be needing you very soon" she said as she explained about her letter, and that Martin had no doubt received one by now.

"I'm leaving now, I don't know what time we'll be back, is Phil OK to stay a bit longer with you?"

"Of course he is, now go, I think Marty is going to need you urgently any time now".

Louisa ended the call, grabbed her coat and bag and headed out the door and walked briskly up to the surgery. Walking into the surgery waiting room, she saw that Pauline had finished sorting the mail for the afternoon and that Martin was still in his consulting room with a patient. For a change the waiting room was empty.

Walking over to Pauline, Louisa said "Does Martin have any more patients to come this afternoon Pauline? "

"He did have, but the family has just cancelled, so looks like the Doc can leave early today" Pauline said.

A few minutes later, the last patient for the day left the consulting room, and Martin came out to give Pauline the patient notes for filing.

"Louisa, what are you doing here?"

"I finished early today, and thought I'd drop by so we could go home together" she said.

"Any more patients today Pauline?" asked Martin

"No, you're free for the rest of the afternoon Doc, the Barrie family called, they won't be able to make it today".

"In that case Pauline, you can have the rest of the afternoon off too. Is that the mail?"

"Yes, Dave was running late today, I've sorted it for you. One personal, the rest professional by the looks of it, and 1 bill".

"OK Pauline, I'll take it from here" said Martin as he picked up the pile of letters.

Pauline logged off her P.C. and left the surgery, closing the door. Martin locked it behind her, then turned to Louisa.

"It's a nice surprise seeing you here, but I have a feeling that there's more to this visit than you're letting on" said Martin. Knowing that Martin always preferred the truth to be told to him straight out without any prevarication, Louisa said

"Joan had a letter from your Father, and he also has apparently written to you. He has supposedly had a life changing experience and is now expressing a deep regret for all that he's put you through in the past. He is also apparently going to pay you back all of the money that you gave him from the sale of your flat in Kensington" said Louisa.

Martin stared at Louisa and the pile of letters as if in shock. Louisa noticed his hands were shaking slightly too.

"Would you like me to read the letter first Martin, to see if I think you'd want to read it or not? Or perhaps you would like some privacy, and to read it on your own first? Whatever you would like to do is fine. I just want you to know that I'm here for you".

Martin pulled Louisa to him and held her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Stiffening his shoulders, and taking a deep breath, he opened the letter from his Father.

The first thing he noticed was a cheque reimbursing him for the money from the sale of his flat. Also in the envelope was a letter, word processed and several pages long.

Martin, holding Louisa's hand tightly, pulled her with him into what was once his old family room, and sat down with her on the sofa that he had left there for times when he wished to relax between consultations. Louisa cuddled up tight to Martin, and read over his shoulder as he read the letter. Being word processed, it was easy for them both to read at the same time.

Martin tensed as he began to read.

_Dear Martin,_

_I do not say Dear Son, as I feel I don't deserve the privilege of being called "Dad" as I was certainly never a father to you. You may have heard from Joan already, if not I am writing to firstly reimburse you for the money you gave me all of those years ago in order to stop me from ruining Joan's life, and to tell you that I have undergone a life changing experience which has made me realise what a farce my life has been up to now._

_I've lived for money, possessions, the approval of others and position. Not once in my life have I appreciated anything or anyone worthwhile in my life. Instead I spent my time seeking nothing but my own pitiful short term, self gratification._

_I now wish to tell you how much I deeply regret making your life a misery at every turn. Withholding from you the Father's love and affection that was your due, belittling you at every turn in order to make myself feel bigger and better, and sending you off to a boarding school as soon as I possibly could, and worst of all, making you feel that you were a burden for all of your life._

_As you advanced through school, getting top honours in all subjects, I could see you had a powerful intellect and I'm ashamed to say it, I felt threatened. Instead of being proud of my extremely intelligent, only child, I felt threatened! How low is that!._

_Later when you went into surgery, you reached the top of your field by sheer brilliance, and I reached the so called top by political bargaining, charm and knowing who to suck up to, and when._

_I covered my insecurities by trying to put you down at every turn, to your colleagues, friends and even family. For this Martin, I humbly ask your forgiveness, although I can understand that this is unlikely._

_I sit back now and look at what my life has been, and I'm ashamed to say that with all of the advantages I've had in life such as loving parents, a good education and a reasonable intellect, I've done nothing but make the wrong choices ever since I can remember. _

_I've not been a good brother to Joan and I wasn't a good son to my parents. I was a pitiful excuse for a Father and I am now reaping the benefits of my own foolish actions._

_I just wish you to know that I am very proud of all that you have accomplished in life, despite the handicap of your parents. The job you do at Portwenn as a G.P. is a crucial role that you obviously fill with a high level of skill and expertise. The people of Portwenn are very privileged to have you as their physician."_

"_I have asked Joan if she would mind corresponding with me occasionally and speaking to me on the phone. I would not expect that of you, as I can mean nothing to you, I only tell you this, as I wish to keep nothing from you."_

_Yours regretfully._

_Chris Ellingham._

_(I no longer go by the name Christopher, as I hope that I am now a new person and as such, go by a new name)_

Martin and Louisa finished reading the letter at the same time. Louisa said nothing, leaving Martin to start a conversation if he wished.

Martin stood up and started pacing with some violence, up and down the room. Louisa stayed seated, waiting to see what Martin needed from her at this time.

"I don't know if I can do this Louisa. I don't know if he can be trusted to be telling the truth, I've never been able to trust him before, yet if he has changed, maybe I should give him another chance, he's the only Father I have after all. Why did he write now? What was this life changing event? Can it really have made him change this much?"

"Although, he has repaid the money. It couldn't have been too easy for him either, as he was pretty much bankrupt when he left here years ago. I don't know what to do, what should I do?" said Martin to himself now. Martin was pacing with some agitation and Louisa was wondering how she could best help him.

"I spoke to Joan earlier, apparently your father was in some kind of an accident and as he recovered in hospital, he started to take stock of his life. He had no visits from his so called friends, and his family didn't even know he was injured, and didn't care if he was anyway. It appears to have shaken some sense into him".

"I don't know what to think Louisa, I simply don't know what to think anymore, it's always been so clear cut and obvious, but now he's gone and blurred the lines."

"You don't have to make any decisions at the moment Martin, he hasn't even left you any contact details. He has said he will contact Joan, so maybe later on when you've thought about it some more, you can chat to Joan and see what she thinks about everything. Or better still, let her have contact with him for a while and check him out. If he appears on the level, maybe we can meet him and have a chat, if not, then you've not had to have anything to do with him." As she said this, she wrapped her arms around Martin's neck and pulled him to her for a kiss.

Martin held Louisa to him tightly, as if he needed her strength at this moment, then bending down he whispered something into her ear.

Louisa gave a slight nod, then taking his hand followed him upstairs to their old bedroom.

Louisa had never seen this side of Martin before; he had always seemed so closed up, and in control. This news of his Father seemed to have rocked him as nothing ever else had seemed to. His lovemaking had been urgent and uncontrolled, and he had seemed to need something from her. She was not sure if she had been able to provide it. However maybe whatever it was he had been seeking, he had found, as now, lying next to her he seemed a lot calmer and back in control.

"I'm sorry if I was rough with you" said Martin, "I don't really know what came over me, I only knew that I desperately needed you, and as usual, you were there for me. I hope you know that you mean the world to me. Without you and Phil, my life would mean very little. I know I don't say how I feel nearly enough, and at times you may feel I take you for granted, but I really need you to know, that you are the other half of me, and without you, I don't know that I could continue to function in any normal capacity".

"You didn't hurt me Martin" said Louisa as she held him to her. "I'm happy to be there for you whenever you need me, as you are always there for me when I need you. I've never had someone in my life before that I could depend on no matter what, and I love, appreciate and depend on you daily too. Together with Phil and Joan, we have made our own strong family unit, and I will protect that with all of my being, but we both know now how important family can be, and how meaningless life can be without family. Maybe your father has truly realised this, and if you need to investigate this further, I am behind you all the way. As I've said though, we don't even have his contact details. Let Joan speak to him first and test the waters, no need to put yourself through anything more with your Father, unless if looks like he has truly changed OK?"

"I think you're right Louisa" said Martin. "I'll have a talk to Aunty Joan and see what her view is on this whole situation. In the meantime, it's a shame to waste this Phil free time, said Martin as once more he took Louisa into his arms and showed her just how much she meant to him.

Several hours later, they locked the surgery, got into Martin's car and headed home. "Ironic isn't it?" said Louisa. "When we spill coffee and change our clothes at the surgery, everyone gets the wrong idea as to what we've been up to. Then when we are actually guilty of their previous imaginings, no one even notices and we get away with it without a second glance from a single villager! "

Pulling into their driveway, Martin turned off the car and turned to Louisa. "At least now we're not being unjustly maligned, they just have the timing wrong" said Martin as he leaned in to give Louisa a light kiss before he exited the car. 'I take it that Phil's still at Joan's house?"

"Yes, when she rang me to tell me about the letter, she said that she was more than happy to keep him for a few hours so we could discuss things" said Louisa.

Martin gave a non committal reply as he took Louisa by the hand as they walked next door to Joan's house.

Joan opened the door to them before they could knock and ushered them inside. I've made dinner for us all, as I thought you may not be in the mood for cooking this evening. Phil's still busy playing and hasn't even noticed that you have arrived home later than usual Louisa, and of course Martin doesn't normally get home until this time anyway.

"I take it, you received a letter today too Marty? No doubt it was similar in its content to mine" said Joan.

"Yes, I received a letter, plus a cheque reimbursing me for the money I paid my father from the sale of my flat. The letter sounds reasonably genuine, but I don't know that I can really trust such a drastic change of heart from him".

Louisa then said "We read the letter together Joan and I suggested to Martin that it might be best if you contacted your brother first and judged the situation, and gave us your thoughts. If you feel his overture is not genuine, then nothing more need ever be done about it, and if you feel there is a possibility that he's changed, then we can look at possibly meeting him at a later stage".

"I think that's a wise decision" said Joan. "I've known Christopher, or Chris as he's going by now, all of my life. I'll soon smell out any tricks if he has anything untoward planned. Now come, say hello to your son, then all of you can join me for a lovely stew, followed by apple pie" said Joan.

"Sounds lovely Joan" said Louisa, as she, Martin and Phil went to wash their hands before they took their place at the table.

"What did you do today Phil?" asked Martin.

"Grandma and I made some play dough. We didn't have any food colouring though, so the play dough had to be white. I made lots of things. I even made a surprise play dough pizza for you and Mummy".

"Sounds delicious Phil" said Louisa. "Daddy and I will have a look at all of your cooking before we take you home for your bath and bed. Have you had fun playing with Grandma today?"

"Yes, especially making the play dough. Grandma's promised to get some food colouring for the next time we make it too" said Phil excitedly.

After dessert, Joan sent them all home, telling them not to worry about helping her to clean up, as they needed to get Phil in the bath and then bed. Taking her up on the offer, the three of them headed home to start on their night time routine, and once again, their movements were observed.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

**In Contact**

Half an hour later after everyone had left. Joan had finished clearing up and was relaxing in her arm chair when the phone rang. Picking it up, she heard a voice that sounded familiar, yet was unrecognisable.

"Joanie? Is that you?" said a husky voice

"Yes, that's not you is it Christopher?" said Joan, puzzled now. The only one who had ever called her Joanie was her brother, yet this did not sound like the Christopher she knew.

"I don't go by that name anymore Joanie, it's just Chris now. I'm trying my hardest to bury the old me replied the voice. Changing my name is one of the ways I'm trying to remind myself of who I was, and who I now wish to be. Did you and Martin both receive my letters? I truly am sorry Joanie, for all of the wrongs I've perpetrated against the two of you, and I really do wish to apologise".

"Your voice sounds different somehow, was that damaged in the accident you spoke of too?" said Joan.

"Yes, my voice was one of the things affected in the accident, but let's not talk about that. Can you tell me how Martin is going? Is he happy, has he found peace in Portwenn? I really messed up his childhood years, and a lot of his adult ones too, I'd like to think that he has finally found some level of contentment now that he's living near you."

"Martin is the happiest I've ever seen him. He has conquered his blood phobia, and has eventually taken to village life. He has saved the lives of so many people in this village, and the villagers have accepted him. I think it is the first place where he has ever truly felt accepted for who he is, and I think that has helped him to find a new measure of peace within himself" said Joan, who had intentionally refrained from mentioning Louisa and Phil until she could be more certain of her brother's motives.

"If that's the case, I'm glad! Martin deserves to find some measure of peace within. I don't think he's ever felt at home in his own skin, and no wonder with the treatment I doled out to him as a child. Thank you Joanie for taking him during the school holidays when he was young. You showed him how a true parent behaves, and gave him the love he needed. Without you I shudder to think how his life would have turned out. As it is, he reached middle age, before his life began by the looks of it. That is a terrible burden for me to bear, yet a burden I deserve. All I can do is hope that if an opportunity arises for me to help him in any way, that I'll be in a position to do it".

Christopher desperately wanted to ask about the woman and child he had seen living with Martin, but guessed that Joan would have mentioned them by now if she was going to, and didn't want to push anything. He would have to wait. He was only getting what he deserved after all.

"And you Joanie,I was able to reach you on your old phone number, so I'm presuming you're still on the farm?"

"No, I had a fall a while back and decided to sell the farm and move closer to the village. I kept my old phone number though".

"Old age soon gets to us all doesn't it? I'm finding it's taking me a lot longer to heal now than it ever used to, but I don't mean to complain. I had my turn at being young and I wasted the years. Now I'm a senior I mean to make the most of the years left to me. I've also downsized and moved to the country. I've sold all of my assets and used them to buy a modest home, and to pay Martin back. I've still got a mortgage, but my insurance is covering that from my accident with enough money left over for food and necessities. Fortunately I was working again as a surgeon at the time I was injured, so my insurance policy is paying out for my loss of income based on the wage I was receiving at the time of my accident. I have enough to keep me in what I need, I am certainly a lot more fortunate than many others".

"So where have you moved to?" asked Joan

"I'm not sure that I want to tell you exactly where yet Joanie, as I don't want to put you into a position of feeling you have to visit me yet. I'd like us to get to know each other again a bit better first before we go any further. This way Martin isn't stressed about my whereabouts, and you don't feel you have to visit your poor sick brother out of a sense of duty. I will say that I'm not far from your neck of the woods, and am within easy driving distance of you should you desire to visit at a later date, or if you should need my help in any way".

"Hmm" said Joan. "Perhaps you're right, Martin doesn't need to be worried about where you are at the moment, and as long as you're not likely to be popping out in front of him, I suppose it doesn't really matter if I don't know exactly where you are living at present. I will need your phone number though in case I wish to contact you at any stage".

"No problems" said Chris as he read out his phone number to Joan.

"You're right, you are close by judging from your phone number, still if you promise to stay out of Martin's way, I can live with that for the moment."

"I promise to stay away from Martin, I have no desire to mess with his life again. Should he wish to be in contact with me, I am more than willing to talk to him, but only if he desires it. I will not force myself on him in any way" said Chris earnestly.

"Hmm" said Joan. "Just make sure that you mean it, because if you aren't on the level, and are here to cause trouble for Martin in any way, I will make sure that you never, ever have the opportunity of doing so ever again" said Joan threateningly.

"I promise, I am on the level Joanie. Martin has been through enough at my hands, I don't have any plans to intentionally hurt him in any way. I can't make promises for any unintentional hurt, as there is bound to be some of that, but I have no desire to see Martin hurt at my hands ever again. I hope to some day prove this to you beyond a shadow of a doubt" replied Chris.

"Well time will tell no doubt, said Joan. Look I'm tired and need to head off to bed, but you are welcome to ring again if you want".

"I'd like that Joanie, sleep well. Maybe we can chat again tomorrow. Goodnight" said Chris as he hung up the phone.

Joan slowly placed her phone back on the receiver and went to have a shower as she pondered all that had been said that evening.

Christopher seemed to be on the level, but years of being his sister had taught her to distrust his every word. One thing was for sure, she would make sure she had thoroughly checked him and his story out before she let him anywhere near Martin and his family.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

**Confessions**

The next day, Joan spoke to Louisa mentioning all that had been said between her and her brother last night.

"It sounds hopeful Joan" said Louisa, "But I suppose it is early days yet. If you meet him at a later date, I'd be interested to see what your views on the situation are then".

"I agree" said Joan. "Way too early yet, but it may just be possible that he's on the level this time. I've never, ever before in my whole life heard him apologise for anything. Or take the responsibility for any of his actions before today. The problem of course, is that if he is actually on the level, how will a new and improved potential father figure affect Martin? Will it improve his life, or make it worse? I'm sorry to say it, but even if Christopher has repented, I'm still quite willing to cast him off if Martin is better off without him. As far as I'm concerned, it is Martin's welfare and his only that will have the ultimate say in this situation".

"I'm with you on that Joan. He's changed so much in the past years, he is almost becoming communicative" said Louisa with a smile. "I'm all for anything that will help him to come out of his shell a bit more, but I don't want him to go through anything else if he will end up feeling worse. As you know, his gruff exterior hides the soul of a very sensitive man, and I will not allow him to be damaged any further by his father, that's for sure".

For the rest of the week, Joan spoke frequently to Chris and reported her conversations back to Louisa. By the end of the week, Joan had agreed to meet Christopher in Truro at a well known café on Saturday afternoon. Mentioning this to Louisa, they put their heads together and came up with a plan.

Louisa asked Martin to babysit in the afternoon while she and Joan went into Truro, supposedly to do some shopping. The plan being, for Joan to meet and talk to Chris for 40 minutes, then Louisa would walk into the café and see Joan. Joan would then invite Louisa to join her and her brother for afternoon tea. This way they could compare notes on Chris on the way home, without Chris realising that Louisa was Martin's wife. Martin, oblivious to the machinations of Joan and Louisa, said he was happy to babysit while they went to Truro.

While driving there, Louisa asked Joan to tell her everything Christopher had ever done to her and Martin in the past, and Joan filled her in to the best of her ability, so that when they finally arrived in Truro, Louisa was prepared to thoroughly dislike Chris on sight. While Joan went on to the café, Louisa filled in her 40 minutes waiting time by doing some shopping at her favourite lingerie shop. After all she figured, Martin could do with some cheering up at the moment.

Walking out of the shop 35 minutes later, significantly poorer, Louisa headed off to meet Joan. Expecting to see a tall, good looking charmer sitting down with Joan, Louisa was shocked to finally spot her sitting with a severely disfigured individual, suffering from burns down one side of his body, and attracting many sideways glances from the people seated at the neighbouring tables. Spotting Louisa, Joan said "Oh hello Louisa, fancy seeing you here. Would you care to join my brother and I for a cup of tea and something to eat?"

Louisa smiled at Joan and walked over to join their table. "Hello Joan, that sounds lovely, I've just been doing some shopping and could murder a cup of tea" said Louisa with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Louisa, lovely to meet you" she said as she held her hand out to shake Christopher's.

"I'm Chris, a pleasure to meet you" he said as he held out his hand to return the greeting. "So, how do you know Joan? Are you also from Portwenn?"

"Yes, I'm one of the teachers at the local school; I live quite close to Joan's house actually. What about you? Do you live nearby?"

"I've recently sold up in London and moved to the country, not far from you both by the sounds of it, a very short trip by car. I've not been able to work as a surgeon since my accident, and I can't see me ever being able to do so again, so figured I may as well sell up and move to the country".

"That's right; you must be Martin's Father if you're Joan's brother. He mentioned that you were a surgeon too".

"I was never as talented a surgeon as Martin, but yes, that's how I earned my living. If I wanted to work again now, I'd probably need to retrain as a G.P., but there's an awful lot involved in that, and I doubt that my old brain could take it all in now a days. You're very lucky to have my son as your G.P.; he's very talented and dedicated to the job".

"Yes I know. We've never had such good medical care in Portwenn before. Martin has saved the lives of many of our villagers and his skills are highly regarded by us all".

"That's good to know, Martin hasn't always received the appreciation and respect he deserves, I'm glad he's receiving it where he is" said Chris.

The conversation continued on in a similar vein for a while, and then Louisa and Joan said they needed to take their leave. Christopher also said he needed to go, and picking up his walking stick, he headed to the counter and paid the bill for them all, insisting that it was his treat.

In the car on the way home, Joan said." That accident certainly seems to have knocked his head on a bit straighter, it was like talking to a stranger. He wasn't wearing designer clothes; he didn't once put myself, Martin or Portwenn down, and truly seemed interested in what I had to say about not only Martin but myself too.

Louisa also said "I felt that he was on the level too. Not that I've ever met him before, so I can't really judge".

"Another thing I noticed, apart from his injuries, was that he didn't try to charm you and fawn all over you as he would normally have done to a beautiful woman. He just spoke to you naturally with respect" said Joan. "The old Christopher wouldn't have been able to resist trying to charm you, and he didn't go on and moan about poor him and his injuries either. In the past everything has always been about him, no one else mattered, and now when he's probably justified in having a 'pity party', he didn't. I'm a lot more hopeful of his change of heart than I could have ever thought possible" said Joan."

"His injuries were quite horrific to look at though, weren't they? He doesn't really even look like my brother any more, and I found it quite hard to look at him without staring" Joan continued.

"Maybe it's time for me to speak to Martin and tell him that we've seen and spoken to his Dad, and let him know of our findings so far. If he wants us to proceed, we can, and if not, Chris will just have to stay out of our lives. No matter how sorry I may feel for him. I think Martin should have the final say" said Louisa.

"I agree" said Joan. "Are you going to talk to him tonight?"

"I think so, are you able to have Phil for a sleepover? I think Martin will feel freer to discuss his feelings if he's not worried about waking Phil up".

"Yes, I'd love to have Phil for the night" said Joan happily. "We'll have a lovely time, don't worry about us."

Not long after Louisa drove into their driveway, they both got out and headed for the front door of Louisa and Martin's home.

"I see Shirley's visiting our neighbour again" said Louisa as she opened the front door.

"Looks like it" said Joan disinterestedly.

"Martin, we're back" said Louisa. Martin and Phil hearing them arrive came out to greet them. Louisa greeted both of her men with a kiss and a hug, then asked Phil what he and Martin had been doing while they'd been away.

"Daddy's been fixing my train Mummy and it now works as good as new" said Phil.

"Haven't you got a clever Daddy Phil?" said Louisa.

"Yes Mummy and he used lots of tools from his special tool box too".

"Were you a good boy for Daddy today Phil?" Louisa asked.

"Yes Mummy," Phil said looking at Martin with some anxiety.

"He was very well behaved" said Martin, keeping Phil's secret of his accident as he got to the toilet too late, just between them as he'd promised Phil he would.

Martin had many memories of similar incidents in his own childhood, but he had no sympathetic parent to help him. In fact, Martin often carried around a spare pair of Phil's underpants in his various jacket pockets for emergencies such as these, and he'd been able to spare his little son embarrassment on several occasions. It was a secret between just the two of them, and Phil loved his Father for it. Not that Louisa or Joan gave him a hard time when his little accidents occurred, but his Daddy really seemed to understand.

"Phil, would you like to have another sleepover with Grandma this evening? She'd like someone to keep her company" said Louisa.

"Oh yes please Mummy, can I?" said Phil excitedly.

"You certainly can. Quickly go to the toilet and wash your hands while I pack your bag for you".

Half an hour later, Martin and Louisa walked Phil and Joan next door, then after saying goodnight to them, walked back home again.

Martin had prepared dinner while Joan and Louisa were out, so they were able to have their meal straight away.

"I see you did some shopping today" said Martin. "What did you buy?"

"Something we can both enjoy later on this evening if you're good" said Louisa.

"Hmmm" said Martin as his thoughts honed in on the bag, and its possible contents.

Realising that she probably shouldn't have mentioned her shopping yet, Louisa got straight to the point and gave her explanation about her introduction to his father, before he lost his powers of concentration.

After telling him in great detail of all that she and Joan had been up to, she waited to hear what he had to say.

"So you're saying that Joan believes that he may actually be on the level" said Martin.

"Yes, that's right, he seemed that way to me too, not that I know him at all" said Louisa.

"I find it really hard to believe" said Martin, "and I'm sure he's up to something that we're not aware of yet, but I suppose it won't hurt to see him at some stage to check it out. You say he hasn't been told about our marriage or Phil. Maybe Joan and I can meet him for lunch at Bert's one Sunday, and you could pop in, providing we can find a sitter".

"Roger would probably sit for us if we gave him enough notice, Phil gets on well with his kids, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a hardship for him" said Louisa. "We can talk to Joan about it tomorrow and set something up".

"Fine" said Martin, "now what is in your shopping bag?"

"How about you lock up the house, and turn off the lights downstairs, then follow me up to our room in 15 minutes, and I'll show you what I bought today" said Louisa with a smile as she took her bag and headed upstairs.

Martin quickly secured the house and turned off the downstairs lights, then headed upstairs to see what Louisa had bought.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**All Is Revealed**

Martin was of the opinion that whatever money Louisa has spent on his surprise, was worth it, and thought it was good to see their income being spent on such worthwhile purchases. As he cuddled up to her in bed, he strongly encouraged her to go and spend as much money as she wanted at lingerie shops at any time, any where, for any price.

"I'm glad you enjoyed my surprise Martin, it's not often we have the house to ourselves so thought we should celebrate the occasion" said Louisa.

Martin was just getting ready to continue with the celebration when his mobile phone rang. The caller had been diverted from the surgery's number, so was most likely a medical emergency.

"Oh no, said Louisa, there goes your evening, I hope it's not too serious" she said as Martin picked up his phone from the bedside table.

"Ellingham here"

"Sorry to disturb you Doctor, but I was just about to leave my injured friend's house when he fell over and I think he may have seriously hurt himself. He's currently recovering from a serious car accident and has burns to one half of his body. He also suffered multiple breaks in the accident too. They have mostly healed but with his fall I'm afraid to move him in case he's seriously hurt himself and I don't know if it's serious enough to warrant an ambulance. As you're local, I was wondering if you would mind coming to check on him? He's in his late 70's and quite frail at the moment".

"I'll be right there, what's the address?" asked Martin as he prepared to write the address down.

The caller gave Martin the address, and he realised that the patient was the new neighbour across the road from them.

I actually live in the house across the street from you, I'll be there momentarily. My wife will join me in case she can be of assistance too" Martin said before he disconnected the call.

Quickly, Martin and Louisa got dressed. Martin grabbed his medical bag from his car and they quickly crossed the road and knocked on the door. Shirley opened the door to them and they entered into the family room to see Chris lying on the floor in obvious pain, and with a suspiciously wet stain showing on the front of his trousers.

Martin didn't recognise his Dad at first, as his physical appearance had changed so dramatically.

"Martin!" said his Dad. "Thanks for coming. I seem to be in a bit of a situation here. I landed awkwardly and think I may have twisted or sprained my ankle and I can't get myself up again. I don't think anything's broken, but I'm not positive".

Putting down his medical bag, Martin bent over to examine Chris. He was surprised to see how frail he looked now. It suddenly occurred to Martin that their positions had now been reversed.

He was strong, and his Dad was weak. He was fit and his Dad was frail. He had power over his Father and yet his Father no longer had any hold or power over him.

This realisation allowed his years of fear and dislike of this man to begin to lessen slightly. He realised that now he was free of his father in a way that he had never been before. His father couldn't do anything to him that he didn't wish to allow, and yet he, Martin could just get up and walk away, leaving him here, soaking in his own urine if he desired. Knowing he could do this, seemed to take away the desire to carry this out. After all, he simply didn't care about this man, one way or the other. So his medical training kicked in as per usual, and he examined his patient.

"There doesn't appear to be any breaks" said Martin. "You appear to have sprained your ankle though. I'll strap it for you, and apply some ice. You'll need to avoid putting any weight on it for a few days and keep it elevated as much as possible".

"Thank you" said Chris. "Would you mind helping me into my chair? I don't think I can get to a sitting or standing position on my own" Chris asked meekly.

"Hmmph" said Martin as he helped Chris to get up with Shirley's help and put him into a nearby chair.

It was only now, that Martin looked around and noticed how old and shabby all of Chris' possessions were. There was mismatched crockery and cutlery on the table, an old T.V. and a sofa that was obviously second hand. His father's clothes also appeared to be quite cheap in quality.

Martin had never seen his father with anything except the most current and fashionable possessions, and this more than anything else made him stop to think that he, must indeed have suffered a change in heart of some magnitude to be living a life of what the old Christopher Ellingham would call poverty.

Martin's attitude relaxed a bit and he offered to help Chris to get changed, and put him into his bed. Chris took some hope from this softening in Martin and thanked him for his help. Shirley and Louisa chatted together while the men were absent.

"Fancy you living across the road from Chris! He never mentioned that his son was a doctor and that you lived opposite him. I suppose he's found it a comfort being near you, even if he and his son don't get on very well".

"Yes it's definitely interesting" said Louisa, who wasn't willing to go into too much detail with Shirley about Martin's relationship with his father.

Martin soon came out of Chris' bedroom and said to Shirley and Louisa that he'd drop in and check on Chris again tomorrow after work.

After Shirley had thanked them both for coming over, Martin and Louisa headed back home to discuss all that had just occurred.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures.**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**Feelings**

Back home, Martin and Louisa went back up to their room, undressed and got back into bed. "Well Martin," said Louisa. "How do you feel now that you've seen your father again?"

"As the man said himself in his letter, he's no father to me. Actually, I'm feeling a sense of relief. Now that I've seen him again, I've realised that I have no feelings for him one way or the other. His existence is of supreme indifference to me. He can live opposite us if he wants, and he can live in Portwenn if he wants. He can even be my patient, I don't care. He is of no consequence to me. I probably have more interest in Bert Large and his life than I do about Chris Ellingham. As long as he doesn't expect to be the prodigal father and welcomed into my family, he can do what he likes" said Martin with indifference.

Louisa cuddled up to him and said "I'm glad it hasn't upset you, and whatever you want to do in relation to him is fine with me". Meanwhile, back at his house, Chris was hopeful that now the first hurdle was crossed, he may be able to start making amends to his son and sister, and hopefully, maybe eventually he would even be able to meet his grandson. He hoped that if he was ever given the chance, he could show that he was able to be a better grandfather than a father.

Weeks went by, and Chris gradually started to visit the village. He occasionally went to the pub, or had lunch at the Large restaurant, but only at quiet times as people tended to stare at him uncomfortably thanks to his appearance. He even visited Martin for treatment for his injuries, but Martin remained indifferent to him. He was treated professionally, just as any other patient, but as far as Martin was concerned, he was just another villager, nothing more and nothing less.

In the past, Christopher Ellingham had never had to work hard to get what he wanted. He was one of those people that seemed to always do well, and obtain their desires with only a minimum of effort needing to be expended on their part. He was always popular at school, always had a girlfriend in tow, and always knew what to say, and when to say it. Having had a change of heart, Chris thought that everyone would see this sooner or later and that he would be welcomed into the family fold. He had not anticipated that Martin would be unimpressed with his change of heart. He had expected a lot of violent feelings for a few weeks or so. He then hoped that after this there would be a gradual softening in Martin's attitude towards him, and then eventually he would be forgiven. He had not expected total indifference.

Martin was always professional with him when he was acting as his doctor, even occasionally gave him a nod when walking past on the street, but that was it. It was as if he didn't exist to him. Chris found this the hardest thing of all to bear, yet he decided that he had no other choice open to him and he just had to bear it. After all, he had nothing else to live for. Margaret had left him several years ago, and he had no friends except Shirley, and he certainly couldn't look for a new wife as he had nothing to offer now that he was pretty much broke, and physically frail and visually hideous. All he had left was his family, and although Joan was talking to him, Martin was indifferent, and Martin's wife and child were staying out of the situation.

All Chris could do, was continue to watch from afar, look for ways to show he had changed and talk to Joan when she would let him. Joan didn't mind letting Chris visit her, but she wouldn't talk about Martin, Louisa or Phil with him. If he wished to know more about Martin's family, Chris would have to wait until Martin was willing to tell him. Eventually Chris resigned himself to the fact that too much water had gone under the bridge, and that Martin was unlikely to ever let him into his life. He had even looked at possibly retraining as a GP, but after seeing exactly how much was involved in retraining, he realised that it just wasn't feasible. So another avenue of interacting with Martin was closed to him. Looking at the training involved though, had given him an even bigger respect for Martin's abilities. He consoled himself that at least he was in a position to keep an eye on his family from a distance, and to watch his grandson growing up, even if he never got to meet him.

The last few weeks had been eventful for Martin, but Louisa was happy to see that he didn't seem to be affected by Chris living across the street from them. It was a sad situation as Louisa felt pretty sure that Chris was on the level, but as far as she was concerned, Chris had made his own bed, and if Martin wanted him to lie in it, then she would support him. Martin had helped her with her own parental issues, visiting the prison to see her Dad with her on multiple occasions and supporting her when she needed it, so she felt she owed Martin the same consideration when dealing with his own father. Louisa was now more concerned with the fact that they had been trying to fall pregnant for several months now with no success. Surely if they could fall pregnant on their first night together after an accident with a broken condom, they could fall pregnant when they were actually trying! Thankfully Joan had stopped quizzing her on her pregnancy progress as it was getting harder and harder to answer her in a light hearted manner.

Louisa was in the kitchen doing the dishes, wondering what she was doing wrong, and why she couldn't get pregnant again when she felt some strong arms come up from behind her and pull her into the waiting warmth of her husband. He gently placed a kiss on her exposed neck, then turned her around to face him and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"A penny for your thoughts" said Martin, "You were looking very sad, is there anything the matter?"

"I suppose I was just being silly really, but after our easy conception with Phil, I thought we'd surely be pregnant by now, especially as now we're actually trying to get pregnant" said Louisa dejectedly.

Martin was just about to reply when Phil came running into the kitchen. "Daddy, Daddy, how was work today? Did you get to listen to any hearts through your '_steffoscope_' ?"

"Work was very busy today Phil, I listened to the hearts of several patients with my stethoscope today. What did you do today?"

"Grandma and I went shopping, but it's OK Dad, I told her not to buy any chocolates".

"That's good son" said Martin, who had been told off by Joan for creating a monster when it came to buying chocolates at shopping time. "I hope you were good for Grandma today?"

"Yes Daddy, Grandma said I was a very good boy today and she called me a _'gold star'_. She said that meant that I was extra, extra good today" said Phil proudly.

"Will you come and play trains with me Daddy? I need someone to fix my railway track for me because I had an earthquake" asked Phil.

"Yes Phil, I'd love to come and play with you. You go and get started and I'll be there in a few minutes after I've finished talking to Mummy".

"You can kiss Mummy later Daddy, my train set is urgent!" said Phil.

"I said I wanted to talk to Mummy, not kiss her" said Martin.

"You're always kissing Mummy when you say you want to talk to her" pointed out Phil. "Kissing Mummy's nice, but my train set is really important" said Phil earnestly.

"Oi you!" said Louisa. "I'll have you know that kissing Mummy is an important job that both of my men need to do lots and lots every day. In fact, I feel the need to kiss my little son right now". Louisa advanced on Phil with open arms and Phil, pretending that he was scared ran off to his play area laughing.

Martin then took Louisa back into his arms and said "This particular man of yours is happy to give you lots and lots of kisses. Seriously though Louisa, we can discuss our pregnancy attempts this evening when Phil's asleep OK?"

"OK" replied Louisa giving Martin one final hug and letting him go.

Martin then joined Phil to play with his toy trains. While Martin was fixing the train track for Phil, Phil said "Daddy, why do we have to give Mummy lots and lots of kisses?"

"Because Mummy is a girl, and likes to have lots and lots of kisses from her men".

"Girls are funny Daddy"

"Why are girls funny Phil?"

"They want to kiss people every day, once or twice is OK I suppose, but to want lots of kisses is just strange" said Phil "How about if you give Mummy most of the kisses, and I just give her one or two, that's fair isn't it".

"Well, I don't know" said Martin with a small smile. "I'm sure Mummy might like more kisses from you, but as I'm your Daddy, I don't mind helping you out by kissing her more to keep her happy".

"Thanks Daddy that will be good. Don't forget to kiss her when we go out for supper will you?"

"Thank you for reminding me Phil. I'll do that. If you remind me at other times, I'll try to fill in for you if you like".

"That will good Daddy, I'll remind you".

"Thank you Phil that will be a big help. It will be hard work, but I'm happy to give Mummy the extra kisses to help you out" replied Martin.

Not long after, Louisa came in to find her men and said that supper was ready. Martin and Phil stood up and started to follow her. Phil tugged at Martin's arm and whispered, "Don't forget to kiss her Daddy will you?"

Martin nodded his head and walked into the kitchen and took Louisa into his arms and gave her a big kiss.

"Thank you Martin, that was lovely"

"It's from Phil, I've been asked to give you extra kisses to save him from having to keep you supplied. He's happy to maintain his current level of two or three or day, but I've said I'd take up the slack" said Martin with a smile.

"I suppose that's OK, said Louisa. As long as I still get lots and lots of kisses, I'm not worried about which of my men gives them to me" she said as she gave Martin another kiss before they sat down to eat.

Martin was in charge of story time that night, so as Phil sat in bed and prepared to read a lift the flap book on dinosaurs with Martin, he said "Thank you for kissing Mummy for me Daddy. I think it worked. She hasn't asked me for any extra kisses today, I just got my regular goodbye one in the morning, and my goodnight one after I brushed my teeth. Can you kiss her for me tomorrow too please?"

"Yes Phil, I'm sure that can be arranged" said Martin as he began to read Phil's story book. When they'd finished, he tucked Phil up in bed making sure he had a drink bottle of water handy in case he got thirsty in the night. He was just about to leave when Phil said "Daddy, you didn't give me your kiss goodnight".

"I didn't think you wanted any more kisses?" answered Martin.

"I don't want lots and lots of kisses" said Phil, but I still need you to give me my goodnight kiss" he explained. Martin bent over and kissed Phil goodnight on his forehead and leaving a night light burning left to go downstairs to Louisa.

Finding Louisa on the sofa, Martin went and sat next to her.

"About our earlier conversation Louisa, it's not uncommon for conception to take a while at our age, or even at any age for the second pregnancy. Sometimes it can take up to a year or so to occur".

"At our ages Martin, we don't have a year or so" said Louisa worriedly. "Do you think you should have a sperm test?"

"You're right in that a sperm test is one of the first things to look at if a couple is having trouble conceiving, and I am willing to have one in a few more months if we're still not having any luck, but as I said, it's only been a few months. You've only just recently stopped taking the pill, so it's realistic to believe that we may still need to wait a few more months before we are likely to conceive. Ironically, if you start worrying about not being able to fall pregnant, you will make it even harder to fall pregnant".

"Not worrying is easier said than done Martin" said Louisa, "but I suppose it has only been a few months, and we have had a lot of distractions during that time."

"Maybe a change of scene will help? There's a vascular surgery conference coming up in London in a fortnight, I know I'm not working as a surgeon at the moment, but I'd be interested in hearing about the latest advances. How would you like to come to London for a few days, could you swing the time off work? We could take Joan and Phil too, that way the three of you could do things during the day while I attend the conference, and Joan and Phil could share a room in the evening, while we have our own room to ourselves. Would you like that?"

"That sounds just the thing Martin, I'll see what I can organise tomorrow. If I am able to get the time off work, and Joan is agreeable to the plan, you can book yourself in for the conference. We could then book two rooms if they still have any left. In the meantime I think you need to come upstairs and give me the rest of the kisses that you promised Phil you'd give me."

"It's a hard job, but I did promise him after all" said Martin as he turned off the downstairs lights and he and Louisa headed upstairs.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**Friends**

Louisa spoke to Joan the next day. Joan was thrilled at the idea of going to London for a holiday with them, and was more than happy to have Phil stay with her in her room. After receiving the 'go-ahead' from Louisa and Joan, Martin booked two adjoining rooms at the hotel where the conference was being held and organised a locum to cover his time away and Louisa was also able to organise time off work, giving her deputy some much sought after acting experience.

Phil was very excited to be going to London as he had never left Portwenn before, and made sure to tell everyone who would listen to him that he was going on a holiday.

The weeks eventually went by, and then it was almost time to leave. Martin and Louisa had made a list and had checked it several times to make sure that they had not missed anything. They were only going to be away for two working days, but they had decided to stay an extra day in London so they could sight see together as a family. Martin was really only interested in the topics that were being discussed on the Thursday and Friday. So on Wednesday evening they headed off for London, driving at night so that Phil could sleep while they took turns driving into the city, and to also avoid the worst of the traffic.

It was a long trip, but Louisa and Martin took turns in the driving and Joan chatted to whoever was at the wheel to make sure they stayed awake while the other slept. Martin wasn't quite willing to let his Aunt drive his precious Lexus.

It was well into the early hours of the morning when they finally arrived. Pulling into the hotel car park Martin turned to the passenger seat and woke up Louisa. Collecting everyone's luggage Martin and Louisa went into the hotel and had the luggage sent up to their rooms while they went back to collect Phil and Joan. Taking Phil from his car seat Martin held him tightly to him as he took him upstairs and put him to bed in Joan's room.

Louisa and Martin wished Joan goodnight and headed off to their neighbouring hotel room. Martin found his pyjamas, had a quick shower, brushed his teeth and went to bed. He was so tired he didn't even bother to check the mattress first to make sure that it wasn't infested with dust mites and other organisms. Louisa had her shower next then followed him to bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, waking early Martin ordered room service to be delivered to their room, while in the room next door an excited Phil woke Joan saying "wake up Grandma, its morning. Time to get up" After a few hours sleep, Joan started to think that maybe she'd been a bit hasty agreeing to share a room with Phil. Joan got up and after they'd both dressed, they went next door to Martin and Louisa's room. The four of them shared a lovely breakfast then Martin headed for the downstairs conference room. Louisa, Joan and Phil leisurely finished their meal then started to make their plans for the day.

Martin by this stage had collected his name badge and had made his way to a seat. He recognised several of his old colleagues in the audience and there were quite a few new faces that he'd never seen before, this included the man sitting to his right. As Martin took his seat, the man turned to him and introduced himself as Jeff Stone, mentioning that he was an Australian who had recently moved to the UK and was soon to be taking up a surgery post in Truro. Martin gave his name and said he was a retired surgeon currently working as a GP in Portwenn, which he explained was reasonably close to Truro if you didn't mind a bit of a drive.

After listening to several speakers, and witnessing a filmed demonstration or two, Martin made his way to the hotel dining room where the conference attendees were to eat their lunch. Jeff Stone asked if he could join him as they sat at a nearby table already occupied by 4 other surgeons.

Half way through their meal Jeff accidentally knocked over his glass of orange juice and was desperately trying to clean up the mess. Martin automatically put his hand in his jacket pocket to pull out his handkerchief before it spilled on him as well. He was about to blot up some of the mess when he noticed that he was holding a pair of Phil's underpants in his hand and not his handkerchief. Highly embarrassed he quickly put them back in his pocket. Observing his dilemma, Jeff said "You have a young son I take it? I do the same thing all the time except that I have a daughter". Saying this he pulled out a pair of pink 'Dora the Explorer' knickers from his pocket. "Me too" said Paul, the surgeon sitting across the table from them, holding up a small pair of Sesame Street underpants. "I've been there and done that too" said Graham the fourth surgeon who was sitting on Martin's other side. "I've still got that to look forward to" said the youngest looking person of the group. "My wife is pregnant with our first". "Mine are teenagers said the female surgeon across the table from him, and trust me carrying knickers around in your pocket is a cinch compared to dealing with teenagers, but don't get me started on that! "The sixth occupant of the table, reminded him slightly of Edith. Apparently she had never married or wanted kids and was looking at them all as if they were out of their minds.

After the ice had been broken his new table mates discussed many of the embarrassing moments that they had experienced in the roles as parents. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had been caught singing children's songs to a CD in his car, with no actual children in the car at the time. Some of the other surgeons were also older parents who were just starting to get the hang of things. Jeff's daughter Amelia, turned out to be the same age as Phil and as they were going to be living not too far from each other they agreed to actually meet again once Jeff and his wife had moved and were settled in.

After lunch had finished his new table mates joined him in the conference room as they listened to the latest speakers and afterwards they congregated at the hotel bar to relax with some drinks. Martin drank his usual water and noticed that Jeff still was drinking nothing but a plain orange juice. "I'm not much of a party animal" said Jeff "I don't really like drinking alcohol it tends to go straight to my head, give me orange juice any time!" Martin agreed saying he preferred water but orange juice was a good second favourite.

Soon Martin said his goodbyes, stating that he needed to make a move as his wife and son were expecting him for supper.

"Me too" said Jeff. My wife, mother and daughter are upstairs waiting for me to come home so that they we can all have a meal together.

They both headed for the lift and got off at the same floor. It turned out that Jeff and his wife were in the room opposite Martin and Louisa, and Jeff's Mother Elizabeth and their daughter Amelia were in the room across the hall from Joan and Phil.

As Martin and Jeff approached their rooms they noticed their families in the hallway talking to each other. Apparently that morning they'd met each other in the lift, and chatting on the way down and discovered that they were all about to go out sight seeing. Although Elizabeth was from the U.K. she'd not visited London in years and it was Clare and Amelia's first time ever. Hearing this, Louisa had offered to help show them around some of the family suitable areas in London. Phil and Amelia had made firm friends and the group of them had, had a wonderful time, except that Joan, Elizabeth and the two children were now more than ready for their beds.

While out for the day, Louisa and Clare had asked Joan and Elizabeth if they'd be amenable to babysitting in the evening if they could convince the men to take them out to dinner. When the men had both arrived at the same time that evening, obviously quite comfortable in each other's company their fate was sealed. Louisa and Clare mentioned to Martin and Jeff that they'd like to eat as a group in the hotel dining room once the children were fed and settled, and finding no objection to this, the men agreed readily enough.

90 minutes later, Martin and Louisa were dressed and ready to head downstairs. They'd booked a table earlier and were hopeful that they'd be able to be seated without any delays. Closing their door, they bumped into Jeff and Clare so headed for the lift together.

"Did you have any problems settling Amelia?" Louisa asked Clare

"She was very excited, but so tired that after she'd finished eating she pretty much fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I'm pretty sure Elizabeth was relieved, as she looked pretty exhausted to me, I don't think she had any desire to join us whatsoever!" What about Phil?

"Pretty much the same thing, he kept talking about Amelia all through dinner though. He's not got a lot of friends his own age to play with at Portwenn, so it's lovely he's found a little friend his own age" said Louisa.

Ahead of them the men could be heard discussing topics from the seminar.

"I'm glad Jeff's found a new friend, it's pretty hard moving to a new country to start work, but although he considers himself an Australian, he was actually born here, and his parents are from here originally, but spent most of Jeff's life over in Australia where Jeff's father's job took them. After his Dad died, Elizabeth moved back to the U.K., and once Jeff had enough experience in surgery to be able to be a good candidate for a job over here, we moved back to keep an eye on Elizabeth, and for Jeff to see where he was born. He'll work here for a year or so and then we can make the decision as to where we want to settle. By that stage, my parents may need us living closer to them and we'll have to head back anyway. At the moment, we're just enjoying our new adventure and although it's a bit daunting as the only people I know over here at the moment are Elizabeth, Amelia and you, I'm sure I'll be able to settle in and make friends near our new home after a while. In the meantime, I have Amelia to keep me company during the day. We can have fun sight seeing around our new home too" said Clare.

"You're very brave" said Louisa. "I've never really been all that comfortable out of Cornwall. I've lived in London before now, but I've always felt like a fish out of water, and keep coming home to my familiar little village.

By this stage, they had reached the dining room and were being seated by their waiter for the evening. Louisa and Clare ordered a wine each, Martin had his regular water and Jeff ordered himself an orange juice, when the waiter had returned with their drinks, they all placed their orders for their main course. Clare said that she was a fussy eater, and eventually found something to her taste, as many of the dishes contained sea food which she absolutely refused to eat, as just the thought of it made her nauseous.

"You'd never manage in Portwenn, then said Louisa. It's a little fishing village, and seafood is the staple diet for most of us".

"You're right, I couldn't handle that at all" said Clare. "We eat a lot of meat in Australia, give me beef, lamb, pork or chicken any day" she said with a smile. "Jeff's not a fussy eater like me, he'll try pretty much anything once, he's a lot easier to feed on a dinner date than me I'm afraid. Mind you after cutting into people all day and every day, you'd expect him to have a pretty strong stomach. Me I get queasy at the sight of too much blood, but being a librarian, I don't have to deal with it at work so it's not something I need to really worry about. Are you working at the moment Louisa?"

"Yes, I'm the head teacher at our local school. Joan kindly babysits Phil for us each day, and we both work full time. Being a teacher I have the school holidays for Phil and the school hours, and once he's at school, my working hours will fit in perfectly."

"I've always thought that teaching would be a good job if you had children, I thought of doing a Dip. Teach at one stage and becoming a teacher librarian, but didn't bother in the end as I loved working in public libraries. Now I've left it too long, and would have to do it as an undergrad course if I wanted to. Mind you it could be different again over here, I've not looked into it, as I haven't been working since Amelia was born for various reasons. Jeff mentioned that Martin has retired as a surgeon and is now a G.P. I take it that he must work fairly near you if you're both in the same village. We don't really have villages where I come from, so I'm a bit hazy as to how big a village actually is."

"Yes, he's within walking distance of the school, and is frequently called upon by all of the villagers for some pretty complicated medical emergencies. He's saved so many lives here in the village over the years that I shudder to think how we would have coped without having him so handy. He's had to use his surgical skills on numerous occasions too, which has been a big benefit to everyone. If we'd still had old Doctor Simms, many of the people involved would be dead by now.

"He sounds very talented I've often wished Jeff was a G.P. and not a surgeon. They work such long hours don't they, and they can only work from a hospital or consult from their private rooms, and you can't call on them in an emergency as they're usually working on someone's heart in theatre. GPs work equally long hours I suppose, but at least they could work near home, and have a bit more flexibility with their time I imagine. However I'm talking from my experiences, things could be set up totally different over here. That's going to be an eye opener for me too I suppose, getting used to a totally new medical system, oh well all part of the adventure I suppose!"

"You're always welcome to ask me any questions, if nothing else, I know my way around our medical system by now" said Louisa.

While Louisa and Clare had been talking, having seated them selves next to each other rather than across from each other at their round table, Martin and Jeff had been busy discussing the pros and cons of various surgical techniques, and now their conversation had moved to more serious matters.

"So Martin, having a son, I bet you've never had to attend princess and fairy birthday parties and learn how to put up hair using various implements of torture such as scrunchies, hair lackies, butterfly clips and headbands!" said Jeff.

"Maybe not, said Martin, but I have been subjected to what seems like every children's CD under the sun".

"I think I can match you there. I bet you don't know Postman Pat's last name?" said Jeff

Martin was stumped with this, as he really hadn't sat down and watched much T.V. with Phil. "Maybe not, but have you seen The Night Garden?"

"Shame on you Martin, Postman Pat is a British program too! Postman Pat's last name is Clifton for future reference, and yes I have seen 'The Night Garden'. What is it with that air balloon thing they call the Pinky Ponk? What I want to know is if the creators of the program were drunk at the time they came up with all of that rubbish. The program seems to have no plot either, as far as I can see, and it's British, so I blame you lot for foisting it onto us poor Aussies".

"You can't talk", said Martin "You Aussies gave us the Wiggles and Phil's favourite song 'Toot toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car', have you seen the size of that red car? I don't know what you call big over there, but over here that car is almost a mini!"

"Yes, well you've got me there I suppose, the 'big red car' is quite small, but 'Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga Small Red Car' just doesn't have the same impact does it?"

Louisa was by now looking in fascination at Martin. She'd never seen him so communicative before, but analysing the situation she realised that Martin didn't really have anyone he could really call a friend in Portwenn as he was everyone's Doctor, and he tried to keep himself a bit distant from them. After all she supposed, it would be hard to check someone's prostate one day and then go and chat with them socially the next.

With Jeff, he was not only talking to someone with a similar work background, but also another father of a young child the same age as Phil, and best of all, he wasn't his Doctor, and he wasn't likely to see him on a regular basis either, and coming from another country, he didn't know anything of Martin's background. Louisa therefore sat back and enjoyed watching Martin relax and enjoy himself.

Eventually the evening came to an end and the couples headed back to their rooms, having given each other their details, both families looking forward to the following day having found themselves some friends to share it with.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures.**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**New experiences**

Back in their room, Jeff said to Clare "I'm glad you liked Martin's wife. It's nice to have met another older couple with a young kid. The fact that Martin used to be a vascular surgeon also means I can also talk shop when I want to. He seems a bit shy though, reminds me a bit of Jason when he was first fostered by Aunty Jan and Uncle Al. When he first moved in with them he was a wreck, kept himself to himself and hardly spoke to anyone at all. The thing that particularly struck me was that he always seemed so sad and miserable. His parents weren't from a low socio economic background either. They both had high powered jobs but he was an accident and was never wanted. This continued all of his life until they both died in a car accident and he was fostered out. It took years before Jason was able to make any friends outside of the family. No doubt Martin is just a reserved Brit who stayed in one of those posh boarding schools we always hear about on TV and he's probably got lovely parents. Nevertheless there's something about him that makes me think he's quite deep and could do with a friend to help him loosen up."

"Well there's no doubt some secrets there if he went from surgery and retrained as a GP. There must have been some reason for it. Either way I think they're both great and you should have seen Amelia with Phil today! They were so cute together. We will have to have them over to dinner once we've moved in" said Clare.

Martin and Louisa were also discussing their day. "You should have seen the children playing together Martin. They were inseparable. It's good that Phil's found another friend, he's not really got any close friends in the village has he? Apart from the Fenn's he doesn't really interact much with the other children. He's quite mature for his age and seems to like playing with adults,"

Martin was just about to mention that it was probably because he was an only child but remembered just in time that he didn't want Louisa dwelling on the fact that she wasn't pregnant yet. (Martin thought that Aunty Joan would have been proud of him for thinking before speaking for a change) so instead Martin finished with "Especially as a lot of the village children are quite rough and he prefers more quiet games".

Louisa thought about mentioning how well Martin was getting on with Jeff but didn't want to embarrass him or put him on the defensive so just said "It was a great day followed by a lovely evening. We're all going out again tomorrow while you two are at the conference, and no doubt we can have a meal together at the hotel restaurant again afterwards. Oh and on Saturday, Clare and I thought it would be nice for all of us to visit the zoo together, is that okay with you Martin?"

"Hmmm, that's fine" said Martin. Normally he did not like doing things in groups, but he hadn't minded Jeff's and Clare's company. Unlike a lot of other people who tried to talk to Martin, Jeff wasn't trying to get anything from him. Be it either a prescription, a quick diagnosis, some help up the career ladder, asking him to sit on some board or other, to proof read a speech or miscellaneous other favours. The closest Martin could tell was that Jeff was just glad to meet another Dad with a young child, a new experience for Martin. Louisa, understanding that for Martin this was an enthusiastic yes, proceeded to turn off the lights and show him just how much she was enjoying her time away from home with her family.

The following morning went pretty much to the same schedule as the day before. They all breakfasted in Martin and Louisa's room before Martin left to go to the conference. He was just about to head down when there was a knock on the door. Opening it he saw Jeff dressed and ready to head downstairs wanting to know if he was ready, and if he wanted to walk down together.

Louisa kissed Martin goodbye as they left. Watching the two of them walking off together reminded her of some of the students arriving together at school in the mornings, it gave Louisa a warm feeling to see Martin with a friend, something she felt he really needed and had been sadly lacking in his life up until now, not counting herself of course.

The conference ran to a similar schedule as yesterday, with a break for lunch at midday. As they had been hungry, Martin and Jeff finished their meal within half an hour, so Jeff suggested that Martin might like go for a walk with him so he could stretch his legs. Agreeing to this they left the hotel and set off up the street. They were just walking past a small men's shop when Jeff said "Hang on a sec Martin, this shop has jeans out on special. Mine are all in storage and I'm going to need a pair if we're going to the zoo tomorrow".

Martin dutifully followed Jeff into the shop. It was a small menswear shop. The items appeared to be of good quality and at affordable prices. Jeff started going through the pairs of jeans until he could find his size. Choosing several different styles to try on, he was just about to head off to the change rooms when he said, "Did you remember to bring your jeans with you Martin or didn't you know that you were going to be visiting the zoo and sightseeing on the weekend?"

"I don't own a pair of jeans" said Martin.

Jeff stared at him in amazement. "Wow! Is that some British thing? I don't think I've ever known anyone who hasn't owned a pair of jeans before. Everyone practically lives in them in Australia. Oh well, no time like the present. Jeff sized Martin up visually and then looked through another pile of jeans until he found what he was looking for. "Here take these and try them on, they look like they will suit you".

Martin stood looking at Jeff in dumb amazement "But I don't wear jeans!"

"You're about to now" said Jeff. "It's not like you can walk around the zoo in a suit and tie is it?"

"What's wrong with a suit and tie?" said Martin.

"Nothing if you're attending a business meeting or a conference, but certain clothes are appropriate for certain occasions. You wouldn't wear a suit when you were operating would you? You would wear scrubs. This is the same thing, the uniform for a zoo visit is jeans and a t-shirt or a shirt if you prefer. Now take these and try them on" said Jeff in a no-nonsense voice.

Martin was quite embarrassed by now so decided to try the jeans on to get Jeff off his back. Both men went into changing cubicles and tried on their jeans. Martin was actually quite surprised at how comfortable the pair that he tried on were. Louisa had been telling him for years that he needed a pair of jeans but he kept stubbornly refusing to go and buy some. Mainly because he was too embarrassed to go into a jeans shop by himself as it was all a new experience for him. Today Jeff had pretty much forced him into it, but he found that he was glad as it gave him the confidence he needed. Before he could get out of the jeans Jeff demanded to see what they looked like on him. "Turn around Martin, let's see how they fit. Yep, they look good. I'm guessing that if you don't have a pair of jeans at home, then you probably don't have any casual shirts to go with jeans do you?"

"I've always preferred suits" said Martin.

"OK then" said Jeff. Looking around he spotted some shirts that he thought would suit Martin, after checking the sizes he handed them over to him and said" try them on" using his no-nonsense voice.

Martin conceding defeat took them back into the cubicle and tried them on. Jeff approved all but one of them, so taking their purchases to the counter they paid and headed back to the hotel. It was surprising how quick they'd been, leaving them plenty of time to take their purchases back to their rooms and get back in time for the next conference session.

The rest of the afternoon's program went quite smoothly and even finished half an hour earlier than expected.

"I don't know about you Martin, but I could do with another stretch of my legs. Do you feel like another walk?"

Martin hated being inactive for so long, so readily agreed. "As long as we don't go into any more Menswear shops." Jeff laughed at this and promised to stay away from menswear for the rest of the day.

This time they walked in the opposite direction. Jeff was fascinated by the city it was so much bigger than Perth his own capital city. They had just got up a decent turn of speed when Jeff suddenly stopped. Martin stopped beside him looking around to see what had caught Jeff's interest. "What's wrong?" he said.

Jeff pointed into a nearby window. "Look at that lingerie Martin, Clare would kill for that negligee I'm sure. She loves that colour" he said as he looked at a sheer apricot coloured negligee in the store window.

Martin said "That's a women's shop, you can't go in there, it's for women"

"The clothes are for women" Jeff said, but men can go into these types of shops. I do it all of the time. Clare loves lingerie as a present, and I'm always amply rewarded for any embarrassment I might go through in buying it, I can tell you" said Jeff.

Martin was thoroughly red with embarrassment by now. "If you must go in there, I'll wait out here, just don't be too long"

Jeff agreed and went into the shop. Talking to the mature aged shop assistant he pointed to the apricot negligee that had caught his interest in the front window and the shop assistant helped him to locate an identical one. He then caught site of a matching bra with accompanying knickers, so pointed to that too. This was when he came across an unexpected problem, turning to Martin who was waiting outside, he gestured for him to come in. Martin ignored him at first but Jeff started heading to the door to get him, so Martin quickly looked both ways, up and down the street and then slunk into the shop, trying to look inconspicuous.

Martin, I need your help said Jeff. The sizing is different over here. Clare's a 12B using our sizing, but I don't know what it equates to over here. Louisa's about the same size, what size bra does she take?"

If the floor could have opened up right then and there and swallowed him whole, Martin would have been very happy. As it was, the best he could do was hope that no one saw him, and that he could get out of there as quickly as possible. The shop assistant seeing his desire to flee immediately used all of her professional sales skills to set him at ease.

"It's tricky with the size conversions, I'm quite au fait with converting the American Sizes to UK ones, but I haven't had to deal with Australian sizing for a while and it's slipped my mind. My internet's down, otherwise I could look it up for you. When my husband comes into the store, he can never remember my size, so I'm impressed that you know your wife's size sir. Usually many of our customers are embarrassed and forget about sizes as soon as they enter the store, when really there is nothing at all to be embarrassed about. Underwear is underwear. We all wear it, and if you can find something nice that your wife appreciates, then it's a lovely gift.

Do you know what size your wife is sir? The sales assistant said to Martin. "That might give me an idea as to the best size for your friend".

Martin had a phenomenal head for remembering numbers, and as he did the laundry for the household as part of his chores, he had often had occasion to see sizes on Louisa's clothes when he was reading washing instructions for various items. I believe it may be 34C, does that sound correct?

Very good, yes that's a bra size. The assistant found a bra in 34C and displayed it, asking if this looked like an appropriate size.

"Looks OK to me" said Jeff, what about you Martin?

"Uhhm, yes, said Martin, that looks about right?"

The sales lady then said to Martin "As you've been such a help sir" if you'd like to buy your wife something while you are here, you can have a discount of 10 pounds off the marked price.

While this may have seemed generous, in her experience once a man got over the trauma of being in a lingerie store, if they managed to cross the first hurdle of actually buying something, then they often bought in bulk in order to get the most out of the occasion.

As Jeff was still browsing, Martin gave a nod of his head and discretely looked around. Jeff said, "Over here Martin, Clare loves this type of negligee, would Louisa like it too do you think?" Martin came over and saw a lovely cream negligee made from a soft clingy material. He could just picture Louisa wearing it. Looking at the size tag, he picked it up and quickly placed it on the counter before he gave in to his desire to run out of the store in embarrassment.

Jeff by this stage was feeling quite proud of himself for getting Martin in there in the first place, and feeling proud of Martin for actually buying something. He remembered well his first time in a lingerie store, but Clare was with him that time and he was just tagging along. When he'd first gathered up enough courage to go into a lingerie shop by himself and bought Clare something on his own he'd been petrified, but Clare had well and truly made it worth his while afterwards. Now he was more than happy in this environment, and wanted to share the experience with his new friend.

After Martin had placed his purchase on the counter, the assistant asked if he'd like to buy his wife a matching bra and knickers set. By this stage Martin would have said anything to get out of there, so he quickly agreed and the sales assistant collected the items in the correct size and then placed them in a plain brown paper bag. She used these for all of her male customers and some of her female ones. Martin looked at the bag in relief, and after Jeff had paid for his purchases, they cautiously slipped out of the store and headed back to the hotel.

As they were nearly there Jeff said "I promised we wouldn't go into any menswear stores, but I didn't say anything about ladies wear!" Martin gave him a dirty look, and Jeff laughed and said "trust me Martin after you've given Louisa her present tonight, you'll be very glad we stopped at that shop, you'll see."

Reaching the hotel they headed to the lift and caught it up to their floor. They each entered their own rooms to help with the bedtime preparations for their children and to get ready for the dinner that evening.

Martin arrived to discover that Phil had already been fed and was in bed, so all he had to do was go in and kiss him goodnight. Joan had a good book and was settled in her bed ready to have a nice read.

Coming back to their room, Martin found Louisa looking inside his shopping bags from his lunch break.

"Martin Ellingham. Are these what I think they are?" Have you finally gone and bought yourself some jeans, after how many years of my asking you?"

"Uhmm, well, Jeff and I happened to be in a menswear shop at lunch time and he needed a new pair of jeans, and pretty much forced me to buy a pair too. I don't know that I'll ever get around to wearing them though.'

"Yes you will, if I have any say in it" said Louisa. "I think you'd look really sexy in jeans".

"Really?" Said Martin intrigued at the thought, "well maybe I'll wear them for you tomorrow at the zoo then".

"Mmmm, I can't wait" said Louisa.

"I bought you something this afternoon too, I hope it's the right size" said Martin almost inaudibly as he handed her the brown bag.

Louisa looked inside not knowing what to expect, and finding some exquisite lingerie inside turned to Martin and said "I love it Martin, how on earth did you manage to buy me something so lovely. Surely you didn't actually go into a lingerie shop, did you get someone to buy it for you? Mind you, I can't see you doing that either. How on earth did you come by these?"

"It's a long story, needless to say, somehow or other Jeff got me into a lingerie store as he needed my help with British sizing when he was buying something for Clare. As I do our laundry I was able to give him an approximate size. While I was there, I saw this and thought you'd look beautiful in it, so I bought it before I could change my mind and run out of the shop in embarrassment".

"Oh Martin, I'm so proud of you, and don't worry, I'll make it well and truly worth your while tonight, when we get home".

Louisa had an extra spring to her step that evening, and was very affectionate on her way down in the lift. Jeff and Clare were still getting ready, so they said they'd meet them at their table. The lift was empty as they got in, and Louisa couldn't resist kissing Martin soundly while they were travelling to the ground floor. They were so engrossed that they didn't notice when the lift stopped and the doors opened. A short lady with fiery hair went to enter the lift and said "Really! Why don't you go and get a room, this is a hotel after all!" Martin and Louisa broke apart guiltily then saw who the woman was. It was hard to say who was more shocked, Martin and Louisa or Edith, who had also been attending the conference, but must not have attended yesterday.

"Ahh, ehm yes well" said Martin. "Edith, I see you're here for the conference".

"Yes Ellingham, come up to play with the big boys have you?" said Edith

"Actually, said Louisa, my husband's been playing with me" saying this, she took Martin by the hand and dragged him out of the lift and guided him to the direction of the restaurant.

For once, Edith had no snappy comeback, and the doors had closed on her before she could think of what to say. Louisa however was giggling and even Martin had a small smile on his face. At least now Edith couldn't delude herself that he had a commitment phobia.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**Rewards**

Louisa started to feel that maybe she'd been a bit crass in her comment to Edith, but it had come out before she had really thought about it. Normally that was Martin's problem, Louisa thought that maybe it was catchy. However, soon Edith was far from her mind as they were directed to their table and were soon joined by Jeff and Clare. Clare was looking particularly happy this evening,

When they were all settled, had placed their orders and Martin and Jeff were engrossed in conversation, Louisa leant over and said "You're looking very happy this evening Clare, do I get to find out why?"

Clare gave a smile and said "let's just say, that I received a gift and that from what I have heard from Jeff, it is very similar to yours".

"Ah, yes" said Louisa, Jeff's been a busy boy today. He's managed to get Martin to be more adventurous in one day, than I've managed in all the time that I've known him. I don't know how on earth he managed it, but I must say that I'm very impressed".

"Well, apparently your gift was chosen specifically by him, and all Jeff did was get him over to the display table" said Clare. "So….. Come on spill, what did Martin buy for you? Jeff gave me an apricot coloured negligee with a matching bra and knickers. I love the material as well as the colour. I mustn't forget to reward him suitably later on" Clare said with a grin.

"Similar to my gift, said Louisa, except mine's in a lovely cream colour, and it even appears to be the correct size. I must admit, I was impressed, and very surprised, just the fact that Martin even went into a lingerie store, and to actually buy something is pretty amazing. I'll have to make sure he's suitably rewarded too."

"You'll know you've been effective with your reward system if he sneaks back there again tomorrow to buy something else" said Clare.

"Hmmm said Louisa, I can't see Martin being brave enough to do it two days in a row, but I'll be impressed if he does. Jeff even got him to buy some jeans! I'm not sure how he did it; I've been trying to get him to buy some for years, but with no success".

"Jeff's got a determined streak in him a mile wide" said Clare. "Very few people can withstand him if he wants to get something done, probably one of the reasons he's so good at his job. Well, that's from what I hear anyway. Not being a surgeon, I'm unable to critique his work personally, but he doesn't seem to get any complaints from his patients or their families, so that's good enough for me. I'm looking forward to going to the zoo tomorrow" said Clare, I've never been to the London zoo obviously, and it will no doubt be interesting comparing it to ours".

"I've not been to the zoo for years said Louisa, and I doubt that Martin would have either and it will be Phil's first time, so I'm really looking forward to it too".

They were interrupted at this stage by the arrival of their meals. "So, when do you all head back to Cornwall?" asked Jeff.

"We're leaving tomorrow evening so that Phil can sleep on the way home, and we don't have to entertain him or listen to children's songs on the CD player all the way home" said Louisa. "When do you head off for Truro?"

"We were thinking either tomorrow night, or Sunday morning, as we're not exactly sure how long it will take, and we're unfamiliar with the roads. We've got a motel room booked for tomorrow night until Friday for the next week while we wait for our possessions to arrive with the removalists on Monday. Well we hope they turn up on Monday. We have access to our house already, but it's no good to us until we can furnish it" said Jeff.

"Well, if you decide to leave tomorrow evening, you're welcome to follow us as far as Truro. We can help you to find your motel then we'll continue on to Portwenn" said Louisa. "If your things don't arrive on the Monday, you're welcome to come and join us for supper on any evening"

"Yes, you're more than welcome to join us for supper during the week if you're still without furniture. Motel rooms can get a bit claustrophobic after a while" said Martin.

"That's very kind of you both" said Jeff. It would be great to have someone to follow to Truro and we may even need to take you up on the supper. Once we're settled in, I hope you'll both join us for a meal one evening, or even a barbecue. I cook a mean barbecue, depending on the weather of course" said Jeff. "We can initiate you into the ways of the good old Aussie BBQ; you'll have to wear your jeans though Martin, the traditional uniform for attending a BBQ in Australia is definitely jeans."

"Hmm" said Martin, not committing himself.

The conversation continued on for quite some time, and a lot of laughter could be heard coming from their table.

Edith, having recovered from her shock of seeing Martin and Louisa kissing in the lift, was now seated in a discrete alcove within the restaurant and was viewing their table through a nearby mirror.

Edith was feeling a bit put out, she'd never really wanted to marry, and her career had always come first and foremost with her. She had always subconsciously thought though, that if she ever changed her mind, she could always seek out Ellingham, as he was unlikely to ever marry and he at least could match her intellectually, and when he was at the top of his game in the world of surgery, associating with him could always help her career even more.

Now that he was with "Little Miss Spiky" he'd not only lost his edge as far as she was concerned but he seemed a totally different person. That he could prefer Miss Spiky over her, just showed that he had finally lost it, but still it rankled that he'd cast her over and she hadn't been the one to leave him. Of course it was more than likely that he had only stayed with the school teacher out of a sense of duty and a fear of getting back out there with the big boys in the high paced world of surgery.

That would be it of course; he was probably just putting on a brave face and wasn't attracted to the woman much at all. After all, she herself was so much better suited to him. Successful, intelligent, attractive, what on earth could that little school teacher have that she didn't have? Feeling a bit better after these musings, Edith turned back to observe the table in the nearby mirror, looking for any sign that Ellingham was just making the best of things and that he wasn't particularly attracted to the woman after all.

This was probably not a good time to choose to observe those seated at Martin's table as their meals were nearly finished and Louisa and Clare had decided that now was the perfect time to begin rewarding their men for their recent brave foray into the lingerie shop. Louisa was feeling quite mischievous after a few glasses of wine, and had taken one of her shoes off and was running her foot up and down Martin's leg under the table, all the while playing the innocent as she carried on a conversation with Clare, who was employing the same tactics on Jeff.

Like most men, Martin found it hard to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Once Louisa began to stroke his leg with her foot, his conversation dried up almost instantly and his face went bright red. Jeff managed a little bit better than Martin, but his conversation foundered soon after.

Louisa suggested to Martin that he might like to get the bill as they would need an early night if they were going to go to the zoo tomorrow, and Clare said an early night was a good idea for her and Jeff too as they had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

From Edith's viewpoint, she'd seen the men go red suddenly, and call for the bill. Watching the group stand up and leave, she also noticed Ellingham lean down slightly as if to hear something that Miss Spiky had said, and take the opportunity to look down her dress before straightening up. The woman then smiled at him and took his hand. All four of them then headed in the direction of the lifts.

Edith simply couldn't understand it; Ellingham didn't appear to be making the most of a dull life. She didn't think he could be such a good actor. He actually seemed to be attracted to the woman. He had really lost it, she thought. She was glad she wasn't stuck in a life of domesticity. She was at the top of her game, successful and on the fast track to getting where she wanted to be with her job. Ellingham could stay in his little biscuit tin town. The City was the place for her. Finishing her meal, she paid, then went to her own hotel room to read some medical journals before she went to bed alone in the big family sized hotel room. It hadn't felt so big this morning, but this evening the emptiness of the room practically shouted at her.

Meanwhile, back in their room, Martin and Louisa experienced no such sense of loneliness or emptiness. Louisa had helped Martin to remove his jacket and tie, and had told him to sit on the bed while she gave him a fashion parade of her new lingerie. Martin was more than willing to agree to this as he sat back and watched Louisa come out of their bathroom wearing her new negligee with the matching knickers.

Louisa offered to show him the new bra too, but Martin insisted on viewing the negligee close up first. Moving closer to her husband, Louisa was able to see the desire burning in his eyes just for her, and she grew warm from this alone.

"You look beautiful" Martin whispered huskily as he pulled Louisa to him and began to kiss the sensitive area on her neck.

"Thanks to your lovely present Martin I love it" Louisa said, "especially the fact that you braved a lingerie shop to go and buy it for me".

"How much do you love it?" Martin asked

"Let me show you" Louisa replied ….

Some time later, Martin agreed that Louisa had amply demonstrated that she had really loved the lingerie, and to himself he was thinking that the trauma of entering the shop and buying Louisa something had definitely been worth the embarrassment at the time. In fact, he might even see if he could pluck up the courage to sneak in again tomorrow after they'd returned from the zoo. Little did he know that Jeff was also having the same idea, having been suitably thanked for his shopping trip by Clare.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**Family and Friends**

The next morning, Martin woke early. He'd been worrying for the last hour or so as to whether to weafr his new jeans or not. He really wasn't comfortable with the thought of change, but Louisa had said she wanted to see him in them, and he shuddered to think what Jeff would say or do if he wasn't wearing them today. There was nothing for it, Martin snuck out of bed and went into their bathroom and tried the jeans on again, with one of the new casual shirts that Jeff had also insisted that he buy. He had to admit the jeans felt surprisingly comfortable, and the shirt with the jeans actually looked quite smart, but still he wasn't sure if it was him, or if he could summon up the courage to wear them in public. After all, he'd worn nothing but a suit for years, and it was a hard habit to break over night.

Louisa woke to find Martin sneaking quietly out of their bed. Wondering what he was up to she stayed where she was and pretended to still be dozing. Noticing Martin pick up his bag with the jeans and shirts in it, and quietly enter the bathroom, all became clear to her.

She knew that it wouldn't take much to make Martin balk and refuse to wear them, so she left him to try them on in privacy for half an hour, then quietly got out of bed and entered the bathroom to find Martin deliberating over whether to wear his new clothes or not. Louisa seeing Martin in jeans and a casual shirt for the first time, was struck by how much more approachable and relaxed he seemed. Coming up behind Martin she wrapped her arms around him and said, "Mmm Martin you look so good in jeans, I'm so glad you're going to be wearing them for me today. I didn't know that the sight of you in jeans would be so sexy, or I would have made you buy some sooner". Turning him around to face her, Louisa demonstrated to Martin just how sexy she found his jeans to be.

Some time later after re-dressing, this time in another one of his new casual shirts as Louisa seemed to have lost some of the buttons from the first one, they found they only just had time to call room service and get organised before Joan and Phil were in their room waiting to share breakfast.

Joan seeing Martin in jeans for the first time said "You look very nice today Marty, just the right look for a visit to the zoo", she refrained from saying anything else as she thought this was a positive step forward for him, and didn't want to embarrass him in any way so that he rushed straight back to get into a suit.

"Daddy, you're wearing jeans like me" said Phil. "We look the same, wow!" he said in excitement.

Martin, expecting lots of negative comments, was pleasantly surprised that this is all that was said and began to feel a bit more comfortable. After breakfast had been eaten everyone gathered their things and headed to Jeff and Clare's room to knock on the door. Ushering them in Jeff said, "We're nearly ready. We're just waiting on Amelia to make a final decision on which pair of shoes she wants to wear. She can't decide if she wants to wear her pink boots, or her princess sneakers".

"I'm wearing my princess sneakers Daddy" said Amelia. "I'm all ready now" she said as she came and took Phil's hand in hers. Both families had decided it would be easier to buy snacks at the zoo rather than have to carry too much around in the way of food and things. Louisa had a backpack to carry some essentials, and so did Jeff.

"Looks like we're all set" said Jeff as they exited the hotel room and locked the door. They all squeezed into the lift and headed towards two waiting taxi's at the entrance to the hotel that they had booked earlier.

Arriving at the zoo, they paid off the cabs and queued to pay their entrance fees. Once in, they headed off in the direction of the gorilla kingdom. "Look at that gorilla over there Amelia "said Clare. "We don't have a gorilla at our zoo do we? We have orang-utans instead."

"Isn't he big Mummy" said Amelia, who was still holding Phil's hand.

"He's so hairy Daddy" said Phil, looking at the Gorilla in fascination, with Martin standing behind him.

The children excitedly went from exhibit to exhibit. They enjoyed the reptile house, then the African birds and other African animals. Phil was fascinated by the Australian outback exhibit as it was his first time to see a kangaroo and a wallaby. He was a bit scared of the emu, and was in awe of Amelia when she told him that she had fed one at one of the local wildlife parks near her old home. Martin and Louisa were impressed with this too as the emu was pretty much at their eye level and looked very intimidating.

"It was quite funny when we took her actually" said Clare. "We'd been at the wildlife park all day and the kangaroos and wallabies had been fed so much that they weren't interested in being fed any more food pellets, but Amelia held out some food pellets to a lonely looking emu that was being ignored by everyone as it looked so scary. It was behind a fence so at least it wasn't able to approach everyone. Amelia held out her hand to the emu and it just delicately pecked up the pellets, politely waiting for each new handful. We had a go at feeing it too, but no one else was feeling up to braving it at the time. We did point out to her though, that not all emus are tame and that she was not to approach one unless it was in a similar environment".

"I'm impressed too, said Louisa. You wouldn't catch me putting my hand anywhere near that beak."

Martin was finding the day out to be a novel experience. He'd never been to the zoo before. Joan and Uncle Phil had always had the farm to look after, and his parents had certainly never taken him. Once he reached adult hood he never had the time or inclination, but now, here with his wife and family and friends he was finding it to be an eye opening experience. He was never going to be a great animal lover, but he could appreciate them from this distance in their own enclosures.

After walking on and looking at the alpacas, llamas, pigs, sheep and meerkats they stopped at the café to break for something to eat and drink. By this time Phil wanted to go the toilet so the men took him. Amelia also needed to go, so while Clare took her Louisa put their orders in and Joan and Elizabeth saved two tables for them all.

Clare needed to go to the toilet too, and as there were no other adults with her to keep and eye on Amelia she and Amelia ended up having to share a cubicle. Once Amelia had finished and was busy pulling up her jeans, Clare took her turn. Unfortunately this left her vulnerable to an excited Amelia who wanted to get back to the cafe for her meal. She was therefore in the process of opening the lock on the toilet door when a panicked Clare said "Don't even think about it Amelia. Mummy's not ready yet." Amelia however, continued to slowly release the door lock, with a mischievous grin on her face.

Clare realised that Amelia had decided that this was a good time to scare Mummy, as she had a big grin on her face while she ignored her and continued playing with the lock.

"If you don't stop now Amelia, you will not be having an ice cream for a treat after lunch, and I'll make sure that I buy Phil a really tasty treat that he can eat in front of you".

Amelia stopped to think about this, as she could see that Clare was well and truly ready to carry out this threat, and by this time Clare was also up and dressed anyway so there was no more point in pretending to open the door.

"Don't ever do that again Amelia, some things are not funny and you are never ever to do, and that is one of them. Do you understand?" said Clare sternly.

Unused to the serious tone in Clare's voice, Amelia said "Sorry Mummy, I won't do that again". After washing their hands they headed to their table at the café, with their food arriving at the same time as them.

"That was good timing Clare" said Elizabeth.

"Yes, we planned that well didn't we. I'm so hungry too, so I'm glad that we didn't have to wait."

Joan and Elizabeth had found them two adjoining tables so they were all able to sit together. Being a Saturday the zoo was really busy, but as they'd chosen to eat later than the usual time, there were a few tables available.

"You realize that it's a very long trip to Truro from here don't you Jeff?" said Martin. "You're looking at between 5 – 6 hours of driving" he said.

"That long?" said Jeff. "Shouldn't we leave around 7pm then, to avoid the first part of the peak traffic, yet still arrive with enough hours left to get a decent sleep?"

"7pm is fine with us" said Martin.

"In fact, it might pay to leave here soon and have a brief nap while Joan and Elizabeth who aren't driving, look after the kids. That's if they're agreeable" said Louisa.

"That's fine with me if it suits Elizabeth" said Joan. "As you say, we're not going to be doing any of the driving so we can sleep in the car later on while you keep each other awake. I know I don't want anyone driving me around if they're sleep deprived" she said.

"We can buy some toys for the children in the gift shop on the way out to keep them busy this afternoon" said Elizabeth.

"How long does it take to drive from Truro to Portwenn?" asked Clare?

"Approximately an hour" said Louisa. "It depends on various factors such as traffic and visibility of course."

"Won't you be exhausted by the time you get us to Truro?" asked Clare. "Wouldn't you be better off stopping at our motel for the night? That's if they've got any rooms left that is. Then you can continue on in the morning after you've had some sleep."

"Actually Martin, that may not be a bad idea" said Louisa. "It is a long trip and it can't be all that comfortable for Joan. Phil won't be able to get a proper sleep in his car seat either."

"I'm happy to book us rooms at the motel if you'd like" Martin said to Louisa. "I'll get the details off Jeff and Clare when we get back and give them a call to see if they've got any more rooms available. Normally I'd prefer to drive through, but I think it will be better for Joan and Phil if they can get into a bed an hour earlier."

"If you do score a room" said Jeff. "We can give you a tour of our empty house before you head back, then you'll know where we are when you come for dinner once our furniture has arrived."

"Sounds good to me" said Louisa "It will also give Phil a bit more time to play with Amelia, which I'm sure he'll be grateful for."

With their plans made, they headed off to the zoo gift shop after they'd finished their lunch.

Jeff and Clare ended up buying Amelia a pink London Zoo hat and some replica zoo animals to play with. They also bought themselves a London Zoo t-shirt each, and Clare bought a zoo tea towel and some postcards.

Louisa and Martin bought Phil some replica zoo animals and a little blue London Zoo hat. Louisa bought herself a zoo tea towel and she also purchased some zoo socks for Martin when he wasn't looking. She thought they'd make a nice parcel in his Christmas stocking this year.

Joan and Elizabeth bought a few extra toys for the children and a tea towel each.

With their shopping completed, they left the zoo to get into the two cabs that Martin had ordered earlier. The children chatted excitedly all the way back to the hotel and both sets of parents were glad to give them to Joan and Elizabeth to mind while they went off to have a brief nap ready for their long journey ahead.

Cuddling up together in their bed, Louisa said "It's been a wonderful day Martin. I hope you enjoyed it? It's lucky we managed to get two extra rooms for the night at Jeff and Clare's motel; I really don't think we'd feel much like continuing the drive after seeing them into their motel ready to head off to bed. This way we can get a decent night's sleep and then continue our drive in the morning."

"Yes it has been a nice day and surprisingly, I did enjoy our trip to the zoo" said Martin. "It was the first time I've actually been to the zoo, so it was well worth seeing, and I don't think stopping off for the night will be such a bad thing, as you say it will be better for Joan and Phil too."

"Try to sleep now, it's a long drive ahead of us, and you haven't had a lot of sleep these past few nights" said Louisa with a smile.

"Mmmm" replied Martin as he closed his eyes, and in the comfort of their lovely warm bed, soon fell asleep."

Louisa wasn't far behind him, snuggled into Martin's side as she too drifted off."

Three hours later, the alarm clock function on Martin's phone activated, waking them both groggily from their naps.

"Mmm, that was a lovely nap" said Louisa. It's a pity that we need to get up. "I hope you're going to wear your jeans for me tonight Martin" said Louisa.

"That can probably be arranged" said Martin who had now woken up enough to start kissing Louisa's shoulder.

"Don't go getting any ideas you" said Louisa. "It's time to get dressed and order room service before Joan and Phil arrive, but it was a lovely thought" she said as she got out of bed and changed into her clothes that she had chosen for their trip that evening.

Martin reluctantly got out of bed and got changed, once again into his new jeans. They really were surprisingly comfortable he thought to himself.

Joan and Phil soon joined them and they enjoyed a meal together. Then they all went around each of their rooms to make sure that everything was packed and nothing had been left behind. In fact they seemed to have more baggage now than when they first arrived.

Martin and Louisa made a trip down to the car and packed everything, then came back to collect Phil and Joan.

Walking across the hall, they knocked on Jeff and Clare's door. Inside they found that they were just about ready too, but were waiting on Amelia who was making a last trip to the toilet before they left.

Jeff had packed their car earlier so they immediately headed off to the front desk to pay their hotel bills.

They made quite a sight at the front desk, with all six adults and the two children. Edith who was watching the group from the lobby where she was reading her newspaper thought they were a noisy group of tourists. It wasn't until they turned to leave that she recognized Ellingham and he was wearing jeans of all things!

Louisa happened to look around and spot Edith staring at them, however as usual Martin was oblivious to what was going on around him. He did however notice when Louisa put her arm around his waist and rested her hand in his rear jeans pocket thus introducing Martin to another previously unknown benefit of wearing jeans, and as Louisa had intended it had the added benefit of sending an obvious message to Edith that Louisa was staking her claim and to keep away.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures.**

**CHAPTER 17 **

**Visiting**

Martin and Louisa had been driving for several hours. Joan and Phil were fast asleep and the CD with adult music had long replaced Phil's musical selection for the trip.

"I'm glad we've booked a room at the motel, I'm so tired" said Louisa with a yawn.

"Yes, it's probably better for Joan and Phil to get that extra sleep too" said Martin.

"It was nice of you to offer to take this longer route home Martin, just so Jeff and Clare would be able to follow us. Our normal route would have nearly had us home by now".

"It wouldn't be very easy for them to find Truro from London having no experience of the area, it didn't make a big difference to our trip really, and we have the added security of two cars travelling together in case of an accident" he replied.

"You're just a softie really" said Louisa with a smile as she placed her hand on Martin's left thigh.

Martin briefly placed his hand over hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze before returning it to the wheel.

Finally, they arrived at the motel and turned into the car park and with everyone working together; they had checked in and made it to their respective beds within the half hour. Morning came all too soon and lying cuddled up in bed, Louisa and Martin had no desire to move from their current location. Eventually hunger and the call of nature had them reluctantly getting up and dressed and heading next door to Joan's and Phil's room. Inside Joan's room Phil was just getting dressed, and Joan who was an early riser, was well and truly up, ready to face the day.

"I'll go and see if Jeff and Clare are up" said Louisa. "We can go and have breakfast at that café across the road that I noticed when we drove in last night, providing it's open of course"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea" said Joan who was now feeling quite hungry. Louisa popped across the hall and knocked on Jeff and Clare's door. Clare opened the door and when Louisa mentioned the café across the road, they agreed with the plan wholeheartedly. Half an hour later and both families were sitting in the small café eating a lovely breakfast.

"That certainly hit the spot" said Joan. "I was famished"

"What's _famist_ Grandma?" asked Phil

"Famished means really, really hungry Phil" said Joan

"I was _famist _too" said Phil.

"I think we were all famished" said Louisa. "So when we've finished here, we can check out your new house, then its back to Portwenn for us"

"According to my map, it's just a few streets from here" said Jeff, "so it shouldn't take us long to find it", and in fact it didn't. After they had finished their meal and the Ellingham's had collected their belongings from the motel, it was only a matter of minutes before they were driving up to Clare, Jeff and Amelia's new house.

"It looks lovely" said Louisa, but a bit lonely without any furniture.

"If we're lucky, it should arrive tomorrow" said Clare. "Then it will be a busy time of unpacking I'm afraid. I've got your contact details in my diary though, so as soon as we're settled we'd love to have you over for a meal".

"We'd love that I'm sure" said Louisa.

"How far away do you live Elizabeth?" asked Joan?

"I'm just a 15 minute walk from here, so it will be very handy for babysitting" said Elizabeth. "I'm going to love being able to spoil Amelia rotten. I missed the first few years of her life as she lived so far away, so I'm looking forward to the next few years."

"Well if you're ever in Portwenn, be sure to look me up, I'm just next door to Martin and Louisa" Joan replied

"We'll you're certainly handy for babysitting" said Elizabeth "That was great planning on your part" she said with a smile.

"I thought so too, said Joan" with a laugh.

After touring the house and promising to keep in touch, Martin, Louisa, Joan and Phil got back into the Lexus, loaded Phil's Wiggles CD into the CD player and headed off to Portwenn for a nice lazy afternoon.

That night Phil's bedtime approached once again, and as Martin was still tired from all of the driving Louisa told Phil that she was going to do story time that evening.

"But I want Daddy to do story time" said Phil.

"Daddy's tired, and Mummy wants a turn" replied Louisa

"But I want Daddy to read to me"

"That's not very nice Phil; poor Mummy wants to read to you for a change"

"That's OK Mummy; you get to do other fun things"

"But I want to do story time, with you, poor Mummy will think you don't love her" said Louisa pretending to be upset.

"That's OK Mummy, you get to do other fun things, you get to do the housework"

"Housework isn't fun Phil; it's just something that has to be done"

"You also get to wipe my bottom and do other Mummy things, you don't need to feel _poor_ Mummy" said Phil earnestly.

"But I want to do story time with you tonight" said Louisa, especially as Daddy's tired and needs to rest.

"I know" said Phil negotiating, "Daddy can come and sit in my room while you do story time"

"I'll tell you what" said Louisa, I'll start story time with you, and Daddy will come up before the last story and sit down in your room while I read that.

"OK Mummy" Phil replied happy enough with the compromise.

Soon Phil was settled in bed and Louisa had started the first story, by the time she was half way through the second one, Phil was fast asleep. Walking downstairs she told Martin how lucky she was, as she got to do housework and wipe Phil's bottom. Martin couldn't resist a small smile as Louisa explained her conversation with Phil to him. "I'm not sure how you got to be the best storyteller and I got to be the best bottom wiper, but I'm happy to swap if you ever feel like a change of duties" said Louisa as she cuddled up to Martin on the sofa.

"I'll let you know should I desire a job rotation" he replied as he gave her a kiss. "No need to feel '_poor'_ though Louisa, you can read me bedtime stories whenever you like and I won't even make you do housework" said Martin. "In fact, I have lots of other things you can do too, and no one else's presence will be accepted".

"Really" said Louisa "Tell me more, so I don't have to feel so _'poor'."_

"Better still, I'll demonstrate them to you" he said as he took her by the hand and led her upstairs to their room.

Some time later, cuddled up together Martin said "So do you still feel like a '_poor Mummy' _or are you feeling better now?"

"I'm certainly feeling better now" said Louisa, but I may need another demonstration just to make me feel really better" she said.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. After all I am your Doctor, and it's my responsibility to make sure that you're feeling one hundred percent well and happy."

The following week flew by as it was the end of term and Louisa was very busy at school. Martin had been busy with a virus running rampant through the village and they also had to deal with preparing everything for Phil's start at nursery school next term, so when Louisa received a call from Clare on Thursday evening asking them to join them for a meal on Saturday night, she was more than happy to accept, feeling a change of scene and a night out as a family with friends would be just the thing.

"Do you think Joan would be able to make it too?" Clare asked.

"I'm sure she'd love to come, but I can confirm it with you tomorrow night if you'd like. Will Elizabeth be there too?" Louisa enquired.

"Yes, she's coming and would love to catch up with Joan again."

"I'll let her know, I'm sure she'd love to come, and would especially love to catch up with Elizabeth again".

On Friday afternoon, Louisa mentioned the invitation to Joan who said she was free and would love to come with them to visit the Stones. She'd really enjoyed her time with Elizabeth and was looking forward to tomorrow evening. Joan wasn't the only one. Phil was very excited at the thought of being able to go to Amelia's house to play. He had already packed his little red backpack with all of his favourite toys to take over there to play with her. In fact time went very slowly for Phil who kept asking every 10 minutes or so if it was Saturday yet, and Louisa and Martin were very glad when he finally fell asleep.

"Next time, I say we don't tell Phil where we're going until the morning of the visit" said Louisa tiredly.

"I agree" said Martin whose head had started aching. Too tired to do any more work that evening, they locked up and headed off to bed to get some well deserved rest, especially as they had a long drive ahead of them tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon, when Martin had finished his morning's surgery and everyone had eaten their lunch, the family headed off in the Lexus to Truro. Once again Phil's music was playing in the CD player and he and Joan were singing along to the Wiggles in the back seat of the car. Finally they arrived and were greeted as they exited their car by the whole family. Quickly they were ushered in and offered refreshments. After some cake and milk, Amelia took Phil by the hand and they raced off to her bedroom to play.

It wasn't long before the men went off to inspect Jeff's BBQ which he was going to be using to cook their meal that evening. "I'm glad to see you wore your jeans Martin, barbecuing is a great Aussie tradition and you really need to be wearing jeans to BBQ. Back home the men do the cooking of the meat and traditionally the women organise the salads and the bread rolls. It may not be politically correct over here, but it's not often you see people deviating from doing it this way in Australia. We have BBQs all of the time during the summer as it's too hot to cook inside usually, and as we have fine weather for such a large part of the year we all well and truly get a lot of use out of our BBQs."

Martin looked with fascination at the huge BBQ that Jeff was proudly admiring, he couldn't see the fascination himself, but each to his own he thought.

Louisa and Joan had been given a tour of the house in the meantime. It was very similar in layout to Martin and Louisa's so immediately Louisa felt at home.

"I'm still getting used to the second story" said Clare. "The majority of houses are single story in Perth as there is no shortage of land, and getting used to going up and down stairs all of the time is a bit of a challenge, but it's all part of the experience I suppose" she said with a smile.

"I'm so used to having two stories, that it's hard to imagine living in a single level house, we'll have to visit Australia one of these days it sounds lovely" said Louisa.

"Just don't go in the summer months" said Clare, "you'll find it to be way too hot, unless you like temperatures around 40 degrees centigrade".

"I'll certainly remember that" said Louisa, who didn't like being in the high 20's let alone in temperatures in the high 30's.

"Elizabeth and I have finished the salads, and later on when it's nearly time to eat, I'll take the meat out to Jeff to perform his magic on" said Clare.

"I'm sure it will be delicious" said Louisa as they went upstairs to check on Phil and Amelia who had been very quiet for the last five minutes. Peeking into the doorway, they saw Phil and Amelia busy colouring in, and sharpening pencils. Amelia had a nice collection of pencil sharpeners and was busy sharpening the pencils as Phil used them. "This is my favourite pencil sharpener" said Amelia. "Look here Phil, this is where all of the _pencil poo _goes" she said as she pointed to the pencil shavings.

Phil looked at the pencil sharpener with renewed interest, "If those are pencil poos, then this must be a pencil toilet, not a sharpener" he explained.

Amelia thought about this, then said "OK, then, do any more of your pencils need to go to the toilet?"

Louisa and Clare, stifling their giggles headed downstairs.

"Where did she get the idea of the _pencil poo_ from?" asked Louisa

"It was when we were trying to toilet train Amelia it was just another way of getting the point across.

"Very novel, I wish I'd thought of that" said Louisa thinking back to the toilet training stage with a shudder.

"Where are Joan and Elizabeth?" asked Louisa.

"I think they're out in the garden, I saw them walking in that direction earlier" replied Clare.

"That's not surprising, Joan's an avid gardener."

Soon it was time to light the BBQ and Jeff was given the chance to instruct Martin on the finer points of barbecuing as done by Australians. Whatever he had said to Martin must have been effective as the meat was very tasty and tender, and everyone had nothing but praise for the cooks. Martin had a small smile on his face as he had been responsible for cooking the majority of the steaks. Maybe he and Louisa should look at getting themselves a decent sized BBQ too he thought to himself. Then they could return the favour of a home cooked barbecued meal.

"Well I officially start work next week" said Jeff. I've enjoyed my holidays, but I'm looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into my new job".

"Yes, it's always good to get back to a normal routine" said Martin.

"Yes, I'll be back to only seeing him on rare occasions again" said Clare. "But I can't be too upset, as having a husband never at home because he's off saving lives, is a bit different to having a husband that's never at home because he's always off with some hobby or other, or at the pub."

"I agree with you there" said Louisa. "Martin's got a busy schedule too, but he makes such a difference to the health of so many of our villagers, that I can't really complain when we don't get to see a lot of each other, but sometimes I do wish that they'd manage to stay healthy every now and then" she said with a smile.

"Yes, I know the feeling" said Clare.

"Mummy", said Phil interrupting the conversation.

"Yes Phil" said Louisa. Turning to Phil she saw him with a distant look on his face as if he'd forgotten what he wanted to say.

"What did you want to ask Phil?" prompted Louisa.

"My brain can't find it at the moment" said Phil. Then he had an inspiration "it's OK, I'll know when I'm a teenager".

"I'll have to remember to ask you again then" said Louisa with a smile. "I'm sure Daddy will remind me."

'I'll remind you Phil" said Amelia. "I've got the memory of an elephant, I know because Mummy said so."

"Oh good" said Phil. "Which elephant?"

"I don't know you'll have to ask Mummy. She's old, she'll know."

"Oh, OK" said Phil.

"Before we discuss elephants", said Clare let's have some dessert. I've got ice-cream and pavlova for anyone who'd like some".

"Yummy, yes please mummy. I love '_pava lowva' "said and excited Amelia._

"Me too said Phil, I'll have some 'pava lowva', What's 'pava lowva' Mummy?"

"Pavlova is a bit like marshmallow and sugar and cream with fruit on top. You taste it, and you'll soon see."

After enjoying their lovely meal and helping to clear away the dishes, Martin and Louisa issued an invitation to all to come and visit their home for lunch on the following Sunday. Having firm assurances that everyone would love to come, they headed back to the car ready for the long drive home.

Tired after their busy day, they all headed straight to their respective beds as soon as they got home. Even Phil stayed in his bed all night and refrained from paying any nocturnal visits to Martin and Louisa's room.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of ****Buffalo**** Pictures. **

**CHAPTER 18**

**Social Life**

Louisa had enjoyed a relaxing week with Joan and Phil as the school holidays had begun and she was enjoying being a temporary lady of leisure. This of course gave her the whole week to prepare for Sunday lunch when the Stones were due. By the time Sunday lunch had actually arrived, she and Phil had spent a lot of the week trying out several recipes, finally settling on a quiche and salad.

"How was your first week at work Jeff?" asked Martin.

"Very enjoyable and challenging Martin, with the only problem being that we're extremely short staffed at the moment. So much so that the hospital is looking at advertising for casual surgeons to make up a casual pool for the hospital. Apparently this is for the first time since they've opened that they've done this. Usually they go through recruiters but they're having trouble finding people available when needed. They intend to aim the positions at surgeons who are semi retired, or currently doing home duties etc. This gives the casual surgeon the opportunity to work if they want, or if it conflicts with their other obligations they can turn the work down and another of the casuals will be approached. Obviously if there was a serious medical emergency such a major accident, then all possible staff would be expected to be on call to attend if physically possible.

I don't know if you'd be interested or not, but if you were, your name would at least be on the books should you wish to perform surgery on one of your regular patients from your practice, yet it is unlikely to interfere too much with your full time job here. Have a think about it anyway and discuss it with your family. As I say, you could be on the books, yet not do more than 6 or so operations a year. A good way to keep your skills up. Totally up to you though, no pressure". Having said this, Jeff immediately changed the topic of conversation and didn't refer to the subject again.

While everyone had been chatting after their meal, Phil and Amelia had been taking turns riding Phil's new bike. He'd received this for his birthday recently and was very proud of it.

"I like your bike Phil," said Amelia. "It's a shame it's not pink though. I like pink, it's my favourite colour."

"I don't like pink" said Phil. "I'm glad my bike is red, red bikes go faster, Mr Large said so!"

Elizabeth and Joan were sitting in the back garden enjoying watching the children play and smiling to themselves at their various conversations.

"Some of the things they come out with, I could listen to them playing together all day" said Elizabeth.

"I know what you mean" said Joan. "I'm going to miss Phil when he's at pre-school next term, but he can't wait to start. He's growing up so fast."

"Yes, Amelia is booked in for next term too. I keep hoping that Jeff and Clare will have another child, but they're not letting on about whether or not they're considering it" said Elizabeth.

"Just between you and me, Martin and Louisa are trying, but they don't seem to have had any luck yet. Mind you, with their busy schedules, I'm not surprised. These things usually need two people to actually be together in the same place at the same time to happen, and that can often be a rare thing for these two. That's why this recent trip to London as a family was such a good thing. Who knows, maybe they put the time to good use" said Joan.

"I'm certainly hoping Clare and Jeff did, but if they're taking precautions, it wouldn't make any difference anyway. However, I've promised myself not to pry into their business and I'm trying hard not to" said Elizabeth with a small sigh.

While Joan and Elizabeth were discussing grandchildren out in the garden, Louisa and Clare were in the kitchen discussing grandparents.

"It's been great having Joan living next door; she's wonderful with Phil and is happy to babysit him at any time. We probably take advantage of this fact a bit too much, yet she appears to love it" said Louisa.

"I'm still getting to know Elizabeth properly" said Clare, "but she's really wonderful with Amelia, who loves her dearly already. She's been great so far and hasn't interfered with our way of doing things at all. It's been great having her nearby, especially as I don't really know too many people yet, but I'm positive she keeps checking me out surreptitiously to see if I look pregnant or not. I know she'd love another grandchild. Just between you and me, we have been trying for another child for a while now, but after a fairly quick conception with Amelia, things seem to be taking a much longer time now. We haven't told Elizabeth that we're trying as we haven't wanted to get her hopes up or to have any added pressure on ourselves" said Clare.

"That's a bit of a coincidence" said Louisa. "We've been trying too, with no success. The only difference is that Joan knows about it, but fortunately she hasn't said anything since the first few weeks. Being childless herself, I'm sure she realised what it feels like to be trying for a pregnancy with no success."

"Yes that would give her a very strong understanding that's for sure. I can't complain though, we at least have Amelia, some couples don't even get to have a child and I can only imagine what that would feel like, especially as we've only been trying for a few months" said Clare.

I suppose we should head back out and see what the men are up to said Louisa, Martin has really been enjoying Jeff's company it's great seeing him doing a bit more socialising. He had a really rotten childhood, it's a long story, but needless to say he's very introverted, and to see someone bringing him out of his shell is wonderful".

"Jeff enjoys Martin's company too. An interesting thing about Jeff is that he seems to see behind peoples various facades and can see what makes them tick. He probably would have made a good psychiatrist, but he really enjoys surgery and his patients seem to like him, so as long as he's happy, I'm not complaining".

The women walked into the family room and found Jeff and Martin discussing Martin's various clocks and his hobby of repairing them.

"It's a fascinating hobby Martin, a bit like surgery in some respects. A friend of mine back in Perth has the same hobby, and he's frequently shown me a thing or two about it, but I'm just an interested onlooker really. I wouldn't trust myself to sit down and actually attempt to repair a clock from scratch. At least I'll know where to go, if any of my antique clocks die on me. I have a few that I inherited from my Grandmother, and I'm very protective of them, just ask Clare".

"I'll say, said Clare. I'm not even allowed to wind them, he insists on doing it all himself, but if it makes him happy, it doesn't bother me."

"Well, I know that feeling" said Louisa with a laugh. "Would anyone care for a cup of tea or coffee?" Louisa took everyone's orders, including Joan and Elizabeth's and she and Clare went back into the kitchen to make the drinks and bring out the cake that Louisa and Phil had made that morning. Everyone was impressed with their cooking efforts, and Phil proudly told everyone that would listen how he'd help to make the cake and how it had been made, neglecting to mention the fact that he'd dropped an egg on the floor before it could reach the cake bowl, which had necessitated quite a bit of cleaning for Louisa.

Having enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea, the Stones decided it was time to make the drive back to Truro. "It's a pity that Truro isn't closer to Portwenn" said Jeff, "but at least it's a nice drive with lovely scenery. Thanks for the nice afternoon and don't forget that if any of you are in Truro to pop in, it would be great to see you. We'd love to have you over again soon, so we'll be in touch. Think about the casual surgery position Martin, won't you?" Jeff said as they drove out of the drive way, waving as they left.

"Well that was a lovely afternoon, wasn't it?" said Louisa as they all walked back inside.

"Yes, very pleasant" said Joan. "Elizabeth and I are going shopping next week. With you home to babysit I thought I may as well make the most of the opportunity."

" That will be lovely for you Joan, don't buy up too big will you?" said Louisa with a smile.

"I'll try not to" laughed Joan as she collected her handbag and saying her goodbyes, headed back next door for a rest. She'd been sitting in her chair, enjoying a nice coffee for ten minutes or so when the phone rang.

"Hi Joanie, its Chris"

"Yes I know it's you, no one else calls me Joanie do they?"

"You seem to have been busy lately." Chris said

"Yes, I've been in London for a short break"

"I take it that you went with Martin and his family?" said Chris

"I won't talk about Martin with you Chris, you know that" said Joan.

"Sorry Joanie, sometimes curiosity gets the better of me, after all I'm not an active part of his life, but I still care."

"Hmmm," said Joan. "Anyway, what have you been doing with yourself lately?"

"I've been busy. I was thoroughly bored by my enforced period of idleness, so I decided that I needed to take up a hobby. As you know, I'm quite good with my hands so when I noticed in the local paper that a course was being run on how to make jewellery I thought that this might be just the hobby for me. I've got an eye for what suits a person even if I do say so myself, and I enjoy working with my hands and if a piece works out well, I may be able to sell the item afterwards to pay for the costs."

Joan's interest was piqued by this. Christopher was right; he was good with his hands and did have an eye for what suited a person. Joan was thinking that it might be nice to get a little token gift for Elizabeth, and this might be just the thing.

"That sounds very interesting, would you mind if I came over and had a look at what you've made?"

"Not at all, it would be my pleasure" said Chris.

"I'll be over in ten minutes" said Joan as she hung up the phone and headed across to the road to Chris' house.

Chris opened the door before she could knock and ushered her into the kitchen. On the kitchen table there was an assortment of very stylish jewellery displayed, Joan's attention was caught by a lovely intricate bracelet featuring local stones.

"Would you be interested in selling that particular bracelet and if so how much would you want for it?" Joan asked pointing to the bracelet in question.

"You can have it as a gift; you're my sister after all Joanie." No, I'd like to pay you, even if it's just cost price and a discount on your labour.

"OK, then if you insist" Chris gave Joan the price of the materials and charged five pounds for labour.

"Are you sure?" said Joan, that's very inexpensive for such lovely work.

"Consider it a partial gift, seeing as you insist on paying for materials" said Chris.

"You've done some lovely work here, you should see if you can sell it through Mrs Tishell, she often sells jewellery in her chemist shop in her gift section, I'm sure she'd be interested."

"I'll look into it" Chris replied then offered Joan a cup of tea. J

"Just a quick one, then I need to be off" Joan replied.

After a brief cup of tea and a chat, Joan headed home, and Chris was left feeling happier than he had in ages. His first family visit and it had gone well. A small ray of hope blossomed as he went to bed, and for the first time in ages, slept right through until morning without nightmares.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**Decisions**

It had been a long day, and Phil who was tired from his play time with Amelia fell asleep before Martin had finished his first story for the night. Going downstairs after tucking Phil in, Martin found Louisa was just finishing tidying up in the kitchen and was about to move to the family room. "You're finished early, don't tell me Phil is asleep already?"

"Yes, he succumbed halfway through the first story" replied Martin.

"That's a nice change, mind you he had a big day today and thoroughly enjoyed his time playing with Amelia. I'm so glad he's found a little friend that he enjoys playing with"

"Yes, it's nice to see" agreed Martin, who had now taken Louisa into his arms and was resting his chin on top of her head. Martin loved how she was able to cuddle into him, as if they were made for each other.

"Mmmm" said Louisa who was busy enjoying the moment to worry too much about conversation. "I'm too tired to watch T.V, read or work tonight, how about an early night Martin?"

"Fine with me, I must admit I don't feel like reading tonight either, I'll just lock up and meet you upstairs."

Having finished their showers, and regular night time routines they lay back in their bed and thought about the day they'd just enjoyed.

"Have you thought about the casual surgeon positions at all Martin?" Louisa asked.

"I must admit, it has been in my mind. I certainly don't want to give up being the G.P. in Portwenn, but the thought of performing surgery once in a while to keep my skills up would be interesting. It would also depend on the PCT if they're happy for me to consider the option too. Most importantly of course would be to make sure it doesn't impact negatively on us. If I did do it, I was thinking I could perform one operation a month on a Friday afternoon. I could lengthen my surgery hours by an hour for each day of that week, and finish by lunch time on a Friday. Drive to Truro and then perform one elective surgery operation. That way if I'm held up by a medical emergency the operation can be postponed without any ill effect on the patient. I'd only be out one extra night of the week and I'd keep my skills up. This of course would depend on the PCT agreeing to the proposal and if you were happy for me to do it. What are your thoughts?"

"It would be a long week for you that's for sure, but it would be nice for you to keep up your skills. How would you feel about doing it every two months, instead of every month, that way you would have plenty of time to recuperate between sessions and it would have minimal negative impact on Phil. Most operations take several hours don't they? And you'll already be tired by the time you get up there".

"Yes, every two months could be better. I'd need to negotiate with the hospital to see if they'd be happy with this sort of arrangement, or if they have something totally different in mind with their casual surgeons positions. A phone call might be worth making though, after all if they don't like this option, I don't have to take the job. It's not like I need it or am particularly worried if I don't get it, that gives me considerable bargaining power. If they're happy with my proposal, and the PCT are amenable would you be happy for me to do this? Bearing in mind that while I'm in surgery, I'll be incommunicado in case of any emergencies."

"I must admit, that particular aspect worries me a bit, but it's not really any different to you being out of mobile range when you're in a remote area, or if you're in London if I was to need you in a hurry. Other wives manage. I'm sure I will be able to as well. If you'd like to do it, I think you should. As you say, it will be good for you to keep your skills up, especially as you never know when they may be needed. Just look at how you saved Peter Cronk" said Louisa.

"If I hadn't been in such a foul mood, I might have picked up the problems with Peter's spleen much earlier" said Martin with self disgust in his voice.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Martin, the hospital staff with all of their facilities missed it, so it couldn't have been so obvious at the time, and you saved him when the damage became apparent. The important thing is that he's alive today thanks to you" said Louisa kissing him gently on the cheek.

"Hmmph" said Martin. "I still think I should have picked it up earlier, but a wise man learns for his mistakes I suppose."

"A wise man also learns from experience Martin, and I think it's time for you to demonstrate to me exactly how much you have learned from all of your recent experiences" said Louisa with a mischievous grin as she pulled Martin to her and kissed him soundly.

Late the next morning, Phil and Louisa went for a walk through the village, stopping for a while to talk to some fishermen and then at lunch time they turned up at Martin's surgery to see if he was available to join them for lunch. When they entered the waiting room, Pauline mentioned that Martin was seeing his last patient for the morning and that his next appointment wasn't until 1:30pm.

Martin followed his patient out into the waiting room and handed Pauline the patient notes. Looking up he saw Louisa and Phil waiting for him.

"Daddy, Daddy, can you come to lunch with us?" asked Phil excitedly.

"I'd like that Phil" Martin replied with a slight smile.

"We thought we'd go to Bert's for lunch and see if you were able to join us" said Louisa as she gave Martin a quick peck on the lips.

"Don't forget to kiss her Daddy, it's your job, or she'll come after me, remember?" said Phil worriedly

Martin went red at this, as demonstrations in public were still something he wasn't comfortable with.

"It's OK Phil, Mummy won't come after you, she's had enough kisses from her men this morning" said Louisa saving Martin from some embarrassment, yet still giving Pauline a small insight into their home life that Martin would have preferred to stay private.

Pauline took pity on him too saying "It's OK Doc, you head off. I'll lock up, and see you when you get back from lunch".

"Thanks Pauline" said Louisa as they headed out the door. Phil first with the two of them following.

Seated at one of Bert's best tables they placed their orders and sat back to enjoy the lovely view.

"I made a few calls this morning, and the PCT are fine if I go on a casual list for surgery providing I keep my regular days to once every two months. I think they liked the fact that it keeps my skills up to date, which improves the service I can provide to the villagers. I also rang the hospital regarding the position, they seemed very interested in the possibility of me joining them on a casual basis, and were happy to accept my terms. They've faxed me some paperwork to fill out, which I am able to fax back once I've signed and then I'm officially on the books. Looks like I'll finally get my own parking space at the hospital and won't have to keep using someone else's when I visit the hospital" Martin said with a smile.

"That's wonderful news Martin" Louisa said as she bent over and kissed him.

"You said you'd kissed us both enough this morning Mummy" said Phil looking worried.

"Yes but its afternoon now" said Louisa. "It's OK; Daddy's had a kiss so you won't have to worry until bedtime OK?"

"OK Mummy said Phil relieved. He didn't like being kissed in public either, that was for babies, but bedtime was different. Bedtime kisses were essential.

After enjoying a lovely lunch together, they slowly walked back to the surgery together, Phil walking in front looking at the scenery while Louisa and Martin followed up in the rear, walking slowly, at peace with the world, hands held affectionately between them.

They had returned slightly early so found the surgery desserted as Pauline hadn't returned from her lunch break yet. Once they got inside, Phil headed off to use the toilet and Martin made the most of the opportunity and took Louisa into his arms and kissed her soundly, Pauline who had entered through the kitchen saw them and thinking that she didn't want to cope with the Doc's bad mood if he realised he'd been spotted kissing his wife in the waiting room, wisely tiptoed back into the kitchen and started making a lot of noise before making her way back out.

When she got to her desk Martin and Louisa were standing apart and talking innocently about the weather. Phil by this stage has also finished his time in the toilet and was holding Louisa's hand.

"We'll see you later Martin. Bye Pauline" said Louisa and as she and Phil waved goodbye as they left the surgery.

Sitting behind his desk, Martin read through the employment contract from the hospital. Being satisfied with the terms, he signed the papers and faxed them back to the Hospital's Human Resources section. Then he put the originals in an envelope to send off to the hospital via regular post.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly and Martin was able to leave the surgery by 5pm and head home to his family.

Walking through the front door of his home, he was immediately met by an excited Phil greeting him enthusiastically. Louisa wasn't far behind, pulling him down to her for a brief kiss hello.

Holding her tight, Martin responded enthusiastically, then with his arm around her walked with her into the kitchen where he could smell the lovely meal that she had been preparing for them all.

"I've sent my paperwork through" said Martin. "I'm rostered on to do predominantly vascular surgery, but may need to perform general surgery too in the event of an emergency. It should be interesting, I'm going to have to brush up on some of the procedures that I haven't done for a while since specialising, but I find I'm looking forward to the challenge".

"That's great news Martin, I'm glad this opportunity has become available and I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job" said Louisa.

That night while Louisa watched one of her favourite TV programs, Martin got out some of his surgery texts and started revising some of the procedures that he hadn't performed for many years. He had no desire to be at a loss when he was first rostered back on. Being thorough, he set himself a schedule to meet, with certain procedures to be revised each night until he was satisfied that he could perform creditably with any problem he was likely to be presented with. He was actually feeling quite excited at the prospect of operating again, but glad that he was only operating once every two months, as although he enjoyed surgery he had discovered quite by accident that he enjoyed the autonomy of being a GP and the variety of challenges that that position entailed.

Louisa had expected that all of this extra study would have left Martin too tired for anything much except sleep, but surprisingly it had had the opposite effect. Who would ever have guessed that researching surgical procedures could act as an aphrodisiac on her husband. He was certainly one of a kind, but she wasn't going to complain, after all that was one of the things she loved about him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**Smooth Operator**

On Wednesday, while Jeff was at work, Clare brought the family to Portwenn to visit with Louisa, Joan and Phil. They spent a lovely day together. The children played well all morning and in the afternoon, as it was a lovely day they decided to all go for a walk to explore the village. Spotting Mrs Tishell's chemist shop in their travels, Elizabeth sent the others on ahead while she stopped off to get a prescription filled.

When she entered the shop her eyes were drawn to a lovely display of unique jewellery on a stand, very similar in style to the bracelet that Joan had given her earlier. Her attention was particularly caught by an intricate coral and silver necklace, so much so that she felt she had to have it, no matter the price. Turning over the price tag she was pleasantly surprised and immediately took the necklace off the stand before anyone else decided they wanted it. While she had been browsing, she thought she had heard Martin speaking but realised it was the rather good looking male at the counter who was standing and talking to the pharmacist.

She couldn't see much of him as half of his body was in shadow, but she was impressed with what she'd seen so far and the voice was very compelling too. Curiosity eventually got the better of her so she gathered her prescription and her necklace and went to stand in the queue behind the man at the counter. From what she could hear of their conversation, he was the person that made and sold the jewellery that had caught her eye as she entered the shop.

Soon their transaction was complete and the man turned to leave with the money from his jewellery sales in his hand. Spotting Elizabeth standing behind him, Chris had an immediate impression of a stylish and attractive mature woman with a lovely warm smile. Years of habit kicked in and he went straight into "charm mode". Smiling his largest smile, held out his hand to her and said "Hi, I'm Chris. I've not seen you around Portwenn before today, are you just visiting or do you live locally?"

Elizabeth noticed the heavy burn scars on the man, yet they hardly registered with her as she was distracted by the lovely blue of his eyes and his melodic voice."

"Hello Chris, nice to meet you. I'm Elizabeth and I'm just here visiting friends. I live in Truro so I suppose it depends on if you would call that local or not" she said as she shook his hand, feeling a light tingle of attraction as she did so, which was something she hadn't felt since her late husband was alive.

Chris placed his other hand on top of hers and suddenly reality hit as he noticed his badly scarred hand and then looking up he saw his reflection in a nearby mirror and froze as he saw the horrible sight that was now his face. Dropping his hands in self loathing, he quickly mumbled something and limped hurriedly from the shop in embarrassment. Elizabeth stood there for a few moments looking stunned, and then recollecting why she was there handed her prescription in to Mrs Tishell along with the necklace that she wished to purchase.

"Can you tell me a little bit more about Chris, the man that just left the shop?" Elizabeth asked Mrs Tishell.

"I don't really know much about him really" she said. "He lives locally but has never given anyone his last name. There's a bit of a mystery surrounding him I'm sure, but no-one seems to know much about him. He reminds me of someone too, but I can't quite figure out who" she said. "He makes lovely jewellery though; I've been able to sell practically all of the pieces that he has brought in to me."

Finally Elizabeth's prescription was ready so she thanked Mrs Tishell and headed up the lane to catch up with the others. When she got a chance she mentioned that she'd met a fascinating man at the chemists and would love to know a bit more about him. Joan and Louisa questioned her extensively to see if they could tell her who he was, but when they realised that the mystery man was in fact Chris, they both gave each other a strange look and then tried desperately to change the subject. Elizabeth wasn't anybody's fool, sensing a mystery, and a determination in the two of her friends not to tell her anything else she decided she'd just have to do some investigating on her own at a later date. She let the matter rest for the moment and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in the company of her friends and family. Wednesday night soon came; Joan was quite tired from her day but feeling very happy with the lovely time she'd been able to share with everyone. Most of all, she was glad to sit back in her recliner and relax. After sitting down for five minutes her phone rang.

"Hello" said Joan

"Hello Joanie, it's me" said Chris. I was just ringing to catch up and see how you're going".

"I'm fine, had a nice day out with friends today" said Joan

"Sounds nice" said Chris trying to get a bit more information on Elizabeth from Joan without having to ask her directly for it. "Did the bracelet fit you properly? If not I can adjust it."

"The bracelet wasn't for me, it was a gift for a friend, she loved it thank you and it seemed to fit her very well."

"Was that the friend you saw today?" Chris asked innocently

"Yes, we had a nice day walking around the village" said Joan who was nobody's fool and guessed what Christopher was up to as Elizabeth had already mentioned him. Changing the subject she said

"Did you hear that the Truro hospital is looking for surgeons on a casual basis, it may suit you as you could name your terms and not work more than a few hours a day?"

"No I hadn't heard. I'm probably strong enough now to do basic surgery procedures as long as they were quick ones or to assist another surgeon for a longer procedure. I might give them a call and see if something could be arranged. I can give them regular hours; they just can't be longer than 3-4 hours straight and probably every second day. Thanks for mentioning it Joanie that might just suit me; I'm still up to date surgically speaking so a few casual hours here and there might help me to pay my bills."

They chatted for a while longer then hung up. Chris was quite excited at the prospect of doing a few hours of surgery, as it did get a bit boring staying at home doing nothing but make jewellery all day. Thanks to the excellent after care that had been provided by Martin and a good diet followed by regular exercise early in the mornings before most people were up, Chris had recovered a lot of his lost mobility and was nearly back to his previous strength apart from a bit of a limp from his various broken bones in the car accident.

He was a bit disappointed to not be able to find out anything else about Elizabeth, but being honest with himself, he couldn't ever pursue a relationship now as who would want him, an old disfigured impoverished man with very few friends and a poor track record with his family.

Apart form anything else, he'd totally embarrassed himself in front of Elizabeth and couldn't see her ever wanting to know anything about him, especially once she found out who he was and about his past form Martin and Joan. This she would be bound to do at some stage so putting Elizabeth from his mind Chris turned his thoughts to the possibility of being able to pick up some surgery work and then went to bed.

After a reasonable night's sleep, Chris did his morning walk along the nearby beach, ate his breakfast, showered and then rang the Truro hospital and spoke to their Human Resources person. Telling them of his past experience, his recent accident and current availability he was offered an interview for the following day. Hanging up in excitement he rang Shirley to tell her of his news; she was very excited for him and offered to take him in on the following morning. If he was successful, he'd finally be able to afford to buy himself a small car. Things were looking up for Chris, he hadn't felt this happy in a long time, and pleasantly spent a lot of the day looking up second hand car dealerships on the internet and going over various general surgical procedures. He didn't find it as exciting as his son had, but still he was a good surgeon, and always prepared well for a procedure.

Martin, had already been accepted by the hospital as a casual surgeon, so had travelled to Truro that morning for an orientation session. He timed it so that he was able to visit some of his patients who were at the hospital before the session started. The orientation was very well done and he felt he had covered everything he would need to know before he started work there. He had received his staff security pass, been issued with a car park and was now officially on the books. Feeling in need of something to eat, Martin headed to the hospital café and bought a sandwich. He was just about to look for a table when he heard Jeff call him.

"Hey Martin, over here" Jeff said indicating that he should join him at his table. "What are you doing here?"

"I've signed up as a casual surgeon and have just been doing my orientation. It's now official, I'm on staff" said Martin with a small smile.

"That's good news Martin, Do you need to get back to Portwenn in a hurry, or are you interested in assisting me with a small procedure I'm about to perform in half an hour?"

"I don't have to be back for several hours yet, I had Pauline block out most of the day as I wasn't sure how long I'd be. So yes, I'd be very interested in assisting you with your next procedure" said Martin.

Jeff had already spoken to his patient before stopping for his break so after informing the relevant staff that Martin would be assisting with his next procedure; they both went to prepare themselves. Jeff went through what he had planned for the procedure as they did so.

On entering the operating room with Jeff, Martin felt at home immediately, all traces of his blood phobia having been cured years before.

The operation went to plan and Jeff had even allowed Martin to do the operation while he himself assisted. Jeff was thoroughly impressed with Martin's skills, the social ineptitude he often displayed in social settings wasn't apparent in the operating theatre. He was self assured and efficient, showing great intuition as well. If he ever had to be operated on himself he thought, he definitely wanted Martin to be the one who did it.

After finishing up, they removed their scrubs and gloves and headed for the staff room.

"That was great work Martin, did you enjoy yourself?"

"I did actually; it was good to see that I'm not too rusty. Thanks for letting me take the lead today, it was most enjoyable" said Martin.

"Any time" said Jeff. "So what hours did you end up giving to the hospital?"

Martin filled Jeff in on his agreement with human resources. Jeff was a bit sorry that Martin wasn't going to be there as often as he personally would have liked, but he thought that the hospital was lucky to get whatever time he was happy and able to give them.

Jeff then went off to check on their patient while Martin headed back to Portwenn for his afternoon surgery session.

He'd thoroughly enjoyed performing surgery that morning, but he found that he still liked the variety that he experienced when working as a G.P. and his close proximity to home and his family.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE**

**Discretion.**

Martin's good mood lasted for the rest of the day and that night after Phil was in bed he was able to tell Louisa of his orientation at the hospital and the operation he had performed with Jeff.

"It was as if I'd never been away, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I'm glad I don't do it full time. It's great as a break from routine every now and then, but the stress and occasional monotony of full time surgery is something I can do without." said Martin.

Louisa thought that Martin looked much more relaxed and confident within himself since he'd helped Jeff with the surgery, and realised that going on to the casual roster, no matter how much extra pressure it put on him, was something that Martin needed to do.

"I'm so glad things went well for you Martin, and I'm sure that Truro hospital are ecstatic to have been able to add you to their casual list, I've just got to do a few things before I head up to bed, how about reviewing a few more surgical procedures?" said Louisa, looking forward to the effect that this had on Martin.

"That's a good idea" said Martin as he headed off to his desk.

Later that night, Louisa found that not only the reviewing of surgical procedures had an interesting effect on Martin, but performing surgery seemed to as well. That night, it was quite some time before she got any sleep.

The next morning, Shirley picked up Chris and they headed off to Truro for Chris' interview. Shirley dropped him off at the hospital while she went off to do some errands.

Chris' interview went well, but there was some concern as to his current state of health, so the hospital thought it best to start him off with assisting other surgeons with their operations. Chris was happy with this, so signed an employee contract there and then. He was also given an orientation, and several of the staff members wondered at his surname and if he and Martin Ellingham were related, but no one questioned him fortunately. Chris was given his hours, and noticed that he was rostered to assist with a procedure on Monday morning with a Jeff Stone, he was very excited and couldn't wait for the following week, but he knew he'd have a busy weekend ahead of him reviewing various surgical procedures.

Ringing Shirley's mobile phone to let her know he was finished for the morning, Shirley picked him up and they went to look at various second hand car places. Chris decided that he really needed to get himself a small second hand car now that he was working, and thought he would be safe to dig into his savings to purchase one now that he had some more money about to come in. Finally settling on a small second hand Ford Fiesta he filled out the necessary paperwork and paid his deposit and was told he could collect it the following Wednesday. Feeling like celebrating, he took Shirley out to lunch as a thank you for all of her support and her friendship, and presented her with one of the necklaces he'd made. Shirley was touched she had seen Chris at his lowest and was now glad to see him starting to enjoy life again.

After Lunch, Shirley drove Chris home, and stopped off to visit one of her dear friends in Portwenn, this was another reason that she never minded popping in on Chris and driving him around every now and then, as it gave her an excuse to drop in on her. Once home, Chris immediately set to work reviewing surgical procedures, by the end of several hours, he was well and truly ready for bed, and slept right through, and even had pleasant dreams for a change. On Saturday, Elizabeth decided to drop in and visit Joan for the morning, followed by an afternoon exploring the village on her own. She was determined to find out a bit more about Chris, but knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere with either Joan or Louisa, she just didn't know why. Leaving Joan's house just after lunch time, she parked her car at the other side of the village and headed off to the chemist's shop, timing her visit to coincide with her last one in the hope that Chris might be there again.

She wasn't far from the shop when she began to get the feeling that she was being watched, turning around she couldn't see anything but still had that feeling. Chris, who had just hidden behind a nearby shop wall when he saw Elizabeth about to turn around was thankful that he was now much more steady on his feet. He would have loved to approach Elizabeth and talk to her, but was feeling tongue tied and very self conscious of his burns scars, so found himself following her from a distance, almost compulsively with no thought as to what he was actually doing. Elizabeth carried on walking, but this time she surreptitiously checked the reflections from nearby shop windows and actually saw Chris not far behind her staring at her in what appeared to be admiration. Elizabeth suddenly stopped and turned around and just caught a glimpse of Chris running away from her once again.

Elizabeth quickly headed off in the same direction and followed Chris at a distance this time, to see if she could see where he went. She seemed to be much more adept at keeping her presence from him a secret, or maybe it was the fact that Chris was just intent on getting as far away as possible. Whatever the reason, Elizabeth eventually saw Chris entering the house opposite Joan's. "_Now that's interesting_" she thought to herself. "_Joan and Louisa obviously know who the man is, yet they won't tell me anything about him. I wonder what the mystery behind him is. I'm certainly going to see what I can do to find out, but not today as it's getting late and I need to get home. " _Walking back into the village, Elizabeth collected her car and drove back to Truro, all the while wondering what on earth was going on.

Monday soon arrived and Chris was ready at the hospital in plenty of time to meet his fellow surgeon. Jeff turned up that morning and was told that he was going to be assisted by Ellingham, the new casual surgeon. Chris was a bit puzzled as he thought that Martin was going to be doing Fridays and not Mondays, but figured there was a reason for it, and who was he to complain as Martin was an excellent surgeon. In fact he could probably let Martin take the lead again and just assist which would be a nice start to the morning.

Jeff went in to chat to his patient before he was sedated and then headed off to get prepared for the operation. While getting into his scrubs etc, he noticed a tall man who was already there.

"Who are you?" asked Jeff

"I'm Chris Ellingham, are you Jeff Stone? I'm supposed to be assisting you this morning"

"Oh said Jeff, looking at Chris carefully. When I was told Ellingham was assisting me, I thought they were referring to Martin Ellingham as it's not a very common surname. Yes I'm Jeff Stone, nice to meet you."

"Yes it's not a very common surname is it?" said Chris leaving it at that.

Chris enjoyed the time in surgery, he felt comfortable with the way that Jeff worked, and believed that he was able to assist him adequately, he was even pleased that the amount of time standing on his feet hadn't affected him adversely, but was sure that if he pushed it and tried to do too many more hours he would soon find himself not coping.

Finishing up Jeff said "Thanks for your assistance today it was a big help. Looking closely at Chris, Jeff could swear that he had some facial similarities to Martin. Are you by any chance related to Martin Ellingham?" He asked.

"Yes, we're related" said Chris, then quickly said "You remind me of someone too, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Never mind, no doubt it will come to me" he said. "I enjoyed working with you this morning, no doubt we'll be seeing each other around as I'll be working 3 mornings a week for the foreseeable future" then Chris quickly turned and left before he could be questioned any more about his relationship to Martin.

The rest of Jeff's day went to plan, and he even managed to finish early for a change so was glad to get home to Clare and Amelia. When he arrived he found his Mum was there too, sharing a cup of tea with Clare.

"Hi Mum, nice to see you, have you two had a nice day?" he asked as he joined them at the kitchen table.

"Yes, got lots of house work done, and dinner's nearly ready" said Clare.

"You'll never believe what happened to me at work today" said Jeff. "I had a new casual surgeon rostered on to work with me, they said his name was Ellingham so naturally I thought it was Martin in on a Monday morning for some unknown reason or other, but it turned out to be this older guy called Chris. Nice enough bloke and a competent surgeon. He looked a little bit like Martin and he admitted to being related but wouldn't elaborate as to how. Before I could question him any further he was out the door as if he didn't want to be asked any more questions. Poor bloke looks like he's been through the wars though, thoroughly scarred down one side and walks with a bit of a limp; it would be interesting to know a bit more about him".

"Clare, that's the interesting man from Portwenn that I was telling you about, you know the one from the chemist. His name was Chris too and he was badly scarred, and his voice sounded a lot like Martin's. I've also discovered by accident that he lives opposite Joan's house, yet whenever I try to get information on him from them they change the subject. There's definitely something going on there, but I don't know what" said Elizabeth.

"I wonder how he's related to Martin?" pondered Clare. He's about the same age as you would expect his father to be, but surely at least one of them would have mentioned it if he was Martin's father?"

"No doubt they've got their reasons" said Jeff. "I don't fancy prying into Martin's business, especially as we've only just met. No doubt we'll find out sooner or later if they wish us to know."

"You're probably right" said Clare, thinking that she'd see if she could find out anything about Martin's parents from Louisa next time they were chatting, discretely of course.

"Yes, that's true" said Elizabeth who thought she'd ask Joan if she had any brothers or sisters next time she saw her, discretely of course.

Back in Portwenn, Chris arrived home tired but exalted from his morning of surgery, he found it hard to contain his excitement so after his evening meal he rang Joan.

"Hello" said Joan picking up her phone

"It's me Joanie" said Chris "I assisted with an operation today and it felt wonderful"

"That's good news, how was your leg, did it cope with the hours of standing still without any problems?" Joan asked

"It was fine; all of my exercise seems to have paid off, both literally and figuratively, thanks to getting back into shape so soon I'm able to work again, something that I thought I'd have to give up forever."

"So how are you going to get to work on a regular basis, you don't appear to have a car?"

"I put a deposit on a second hand Ford Fiesta on Friday, and should be taking delivery of it on Wednesday so I should be set"

"That's good news, did you like the surgeon you were assisting today"

"Yes, he was very friendly and very good at his job. His name escapes me at the moment, but no doubt it will come back to me when I'm not trying to think of it. I'm rostered on again for Wednesday so had better go and do some more study, thanks for letting me know about the positions going at the hospital Joanie. I owe you one. Bye." Chris hung up the phone and went to do a bit more study before heading off to bed for another good night's sleep. His nightmares seemed to be coming less frequently now.

Wednesday soon arrived and Chris was back at the hospital assisting with another operation. If things continued to go well, he would be able to perform minor surgical procedures on his own soon which was something to look forward too. Finishing for the morning Chris headed to the second hand car yard and completed the rest of the paperwork and paid the remaining money on his car. Driving off he felt young again and at peace with the world. Filling up the car with petrol he headed back home to Portwenn enjoying the autonomy of owning his own car and being able to go wherever he pleased whenever he wanted to. Things were going so well until his car broke down on a deserted road out of mobile phone range.

Chris was good with his hands, but had never been mechanically minded. Previously he'd only ever owned new cars so hadn't experienced much in the way of car troubles but now he found himself in a bit of a situation. He had been sitting in his car for half an hour, wondering what to do when a little car drove up and stopped behind him.

Chris got out of his car, thankful that it looked like some assistance had finally arrived. When he saw the driver at first he was ecstatic and then he quickly became embarrassed and flustered. Elizabeth had been on her way to visit Joan and had seen a car broken down by the side of the road, seeing that the driver appeared to be elderly she thought she'd be safe enough to stop to see if they needed help and was very surprised when she saw that Chris was the one in trouble. Now she had him at a disadvantage, and she intended to make the most of it.

"Hello Chris, you look like you're in a spot of bother" she said. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm not very handy with cars I'm afraid. I can tell you that the car has just stopped, but I couldn't tell you why."

"Hmmm, said Elizabeth, no matter. If we can't get it going, I can always either give you a lift to Portwenn, or drive on and send someone back to help but I am actually quite handy with cars so may have some success in getting it going. It comes from having driven around in a lot of old second hand cars in my time. My husband always preferred older cars as he was always carting around some animal or other and didn't want to have to worry about a new car."

"So, I hear you're Martin's Father" said Elizabeth taking a stab in the dark.

"Who told you that?" said Chris. "Did Martin say anything he asked hopefully?"

"No, but you just did" she said. "So why didn't you mention it earlier?"

"It's a long story" said Chris

"We appear to have the time" said Elizabeth

"Let's just say that although I may have been Martin's biological father, I never really filled the position."

"Are you saying Martin's adopted and you're the biological father? Elizabeth asked.

"No, that's not it. If I tell you, you must promise not to tell anyone else, or mention anything to Martin regarding this. Can I trust you?" Chris asked

"OK, you have my word. I won't ask Martin anything regarding you, or Joan?" said Elizabeth.

Chris slowly and thoroughly explained to Elizabeth about his past, his abominable treatment of Martin and marginally less offensive treatment of Joan. He told of Margaret, the cold hearted woman that he'd been married to for so many years, who had married him for his position and their sexual chemistry and not much else. How his immaturity and self centeredness combined with her calculating self obsession had made Martin's childhood years a living hell, and it wasn't until only recently that he'd seen himself for what he really was. He had done his best to repay Martin financially for the money he'd given him to stop him from ruining Joan's life and he'd also moved close to them to feel just a bit closer to his family even though understandably Martin wanted nothing to do with him. He hadn't yet met his grandson and had only spoken to Louisa once briefly during a medical visit. Chris left nothing out, knowing that if Elizabeth had any favourable feelings for him before, they would certainly have vanished by now.

"You certainly sound like you used to be an arrogant and self centred man, and it appears that you're now paying a heavy price for your iniquities" said Elizabeth. "It also sounds like your poor choice in a wife enhanced your poorer qualities and stunted your good ones. Maybe her leaving you was the best thing that could have ever happened to you. Look at you now, you've developed an improved relationship with your sister, Martin isn't worrying about you being in the village. He may have no feelings for you at the moment, but he does not actively hate you either. You also have an interesting hobby and it sounds like you've just started work as a surgeon according to my son Jeff.

"So that's why he looked familiar to me" said Christopher. "Jeff's your son then?"

"Yes Jeff's my son, and a very good friend of Martin's, and his wife is a very good friend of Louisa's just as I'm a good friend of Joan's. I haven't been affected by your past behaviour like them though, so I'm willing to take it on trust that you've changed your ways and am willing to be friends. Just try not to stalk me through the village streets of Portwenn OK?"

"You have a deal" said Chris, happy to have found a friend. He may be strongly attracted to Elizabeth, but friendship was better than nothing, and it wasn't as if he had a lot of friends to call his own at the moment.

Elizabeth then had a look under his bonnet, went back to her car and got out a small toolbox. Going back to Chris' car she made a small adjustment to a loose wire and got Chris to try to start the car again.

The engine sprang to life and Chris thanked Elizabeth profusely. Elizabeth then followed him back to Portwenn, and dropped in to visit Joan as she'd promised her she would earlier. True to her word however, she didn't mention Christopher once.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

_Author's note: I am not medically trained, so please forgive any medical errors._

**CHAPTER TWENTY TWO**

**Teamwork**

On Friday Chris was rostered on to assist in surgery for the morning. The session for the morning had been straight forward and they had finished early so Chris who was no longer dependent on Shirley for transport had decided to celebrate his third day of work by enjoying a nice lunch in the hospital café where he now received a staff discount. Martin was rostered to work that afternoon for his first official operation and as it was the school holidays, Louisa, Joan and Phil had come up with him. The plan was to drop them at Jeff and Clare's house so they could visit for a few hours while he was at work as they had arranged with Clare yesterday.

As Martin drove into the driveway, Clare raced out to tell them that Jeff had been diagnosed with acute appendicitis and was waiting on Martin to get there to operate on him as he'd specifically asked for Martin to do the surgery. Joan offered to babysit the children, so Clare and Elizabeth joined Martin and Louisa in the car as he raced off to the hospital.

The hospital staff were flat out when they arrived. There had been two major car crashes and everything was in chaos and all of the staff members were stretched pretty thin. Martin announced his presence and was told that Jeff had already been prepared and was waiting to go. They also said that luckily one of the other casual surgeons had been in that morning and hadn't left yet and was happy to assist if required.

Martin knowing that the operation would go smoother with assistance said he'd take him and went to quickly pop in on Jeff before he scrubbed up.

"Glad you made it in time Martin" said Jeff a bit breathless with the pain, but managing thanks to pain medication. "No need to go through the drill, I know the risks involved etc, and have signed all of the paperwork. I know you're a great surgeon and will do just fine."

"OK then, if you don't have any questions, I'm off to scrub up now and I'll see you after the operation. Clare and Elizabeth are here too and send you their love" said Martin as he hurried off.

Scrubbing up, Martin saw that his assistant for the operation was his father and was quite at a loss for a moment.

"Hi Martin, I hope you're OK with me assisting? I'm all that's available thanks to the car crash casualties. I'll understand if you prefer to operate solo, but I'm more than happy to assist if you are happy for me to do so."

Martin weighed up the situation. As far as he was concerned Jeff's health took priority, and he had never operated with his father before so it would be interesting to see him in action, and after all as far as he was concerned the man meant nothing to him."

"You may assist now that you're here" he said as he entered the operating room.

Jeff was lying on the operating table, the aneasthetist who was also a friend of Jeff's was monitoring him closely.

Martin decided on a laparoscopic appendectomy as keyhole surgery had a faster recovery time for the patient and Chris agreed with him. Beginning the operation Chris helped Martin to insert 3 trochars to create three small ports in Jeff's abdominal wall. One on the umbilicas, and one on the upper right and the lower left quadrant of Jeff's abdomen. Chris then pumped carbon dioxide gas through the umbilical port to inflate the abdomen allowing Martin to get a better view of the area. Martin then inserted the laparascope through the same port so he could view the images of the appendix on the video monitor. The appendix was certainly red and swollen and needed instant removal. Through the remaining ports Martin used his instruments to grasp the appendix and separate it from the intestine and drop it into a specimen bag. He then removed the bag through one of the ports. Finishing off he inserted warm sterile salt water through a port and into the abdomen to cleanse the abdominal cavity and remove any traces of infection and then Chris suctioned out the salt water. Martin took one final look around through the laparascope and was satisfied with what he saw. He made sure to leave one port valve in place temporarily to allow for all carbon dioxide to escape from the abdomen, then all of the key holes were sutured and bandaged. The anaesthetist then removed the breathing tube and Jeff was taken to the recovery room and administered pain medication. After cleaning themselves up Martin and Chris went to see Clare, Elizabeth and Louisa to let them know that the surgery had been a success and Jeff was now in recovery.

Clare had been really worried, especially knowing that if Jeff's appendix had burst, things would be touch and go as to his survival. One of her close friends had died from a burst appendix so she was under no illusion as to the serious nature of Jeff's situation. Louisa had been doing her best to help her but it wasn't until Martin and Chris came to tell her of the successful surgery that she finally was able to stop worrying. She gave Martin a big hug and a peck on the cheek. Elizabeth, equally as demonstrative hugged Chris and thanked him profusely too.

Martin moved behind Louisa to use her as a human shield against any other overt emotionalism from the Stone's and said that Jeff should be able to receive visitors soon, and that if all went to plan, he should be ready to leave the hospital by tomorrow.

Clare was about to swoop in to hug Martin again when Martin made an excuse that he was off to check on Jeff in recovery, and rushed off red in the face.

"He's such a sweetie Louisa" said Clare, smiling in relief.

"Don't let any of his patients in on the secret will you?" said Louisa "He tries very hard to hide it from everyone, and would hate to lose his reputation of being a grouch."

Chris on the other hand was enjoying the thank you that he'd received from Elizabeth. She still had hold of his hand, and being a smart man, he wasn't about to let go of it either.

Eventually Clare was able to go in and visit Jeff.

"Martin is a really lovely man under that stern exterior" said Clare with a laugh as she sat down next to Jeff and held his hand. "Are you OK, do you need anything? I need to get back home to Amelia fairly soon, but I can stop at the house to pick up anything you want and drop it back here".

"No that's fine, you get back to Amelia, I just want to sleep anyway, I'd love to see you tomorrow though". Clare kissed Jeff goodbye and headed back out to the waiting room to catch up with the others.

It was a bit of a squeeze driving home. In the end, Chris followed behind with Elizabeth while Martin drove Louisa andClare.

Soon they were at Clare's house, and Joan raced out with the children. "How is he, did everything go well?"

Elizabeth filled her in on the details, and Clare invited them all in for afternoon tea, including Chris.

"Thank you so much for today" said Clare,

"You were both wonderful" Elizabeth agreed.

"I just assisted" said Chris. "Martin did all of the work, a very neat and efficient job too."

"Hmph" said Martin while drinking his tea, then he grudgingly said "It was teamwork, it would have been much harder without someone competent there to assist."

Chris glowed with happiness and Martin stared fixedly into his cup wondering what he was letting himself in for now.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY THREE**

**Ups and Downs**

Things were certainly looking up for Chris. Not only had he managed to obtain casual work as a surgeon and was pretty much able to choose his own hours, but he'd made a friend in Elizabeth who actually knew of his background and was still talking to him. She didn't even seem to be put off by his ugly appearance, and to top it off here he was sitting down to afternoon tea with his family and his grandson was just in the next room. If his luck held, he may even get to meet him. Chris' luck did indeed hold as Phil and Amelia soon came back into the room in search of cake and milk. Looking around Phil saw a funny looking man that he didn't know sitting down with everyone. "Who are you?" he asked Chris.

Chris had to stop and think hard for a moment, he couldn't say he was Phil's grandfather without risking upsetting Martin, Louisa and Joan, and he couldn't say his name was Mr Ellingham either as Phil would ask questions. Hoping for the best, Chris said "I'm your neighbour from across the road, and I also work at the hospital with Mr Stone and your Dad. I've also known your Daddy and your Grandma for a long time, so you can call me Uncle Chris if you want or Doc Chris if you prefer, just like how everyone calls your Daddy Doc Martin".

Hoping he'd said the right thing he looked around at everyone's faces and didn't see any angry looks of disapproval, so breathing a silent sigh of relief he realised that he must have said the right thing.

"You can be Doc Chris. All doctors should get to be called Doc like my Daddy, as being a doctor is a very important job, Mummy says so all of the time" Phil replied. After filling themselves with some cake and a cup of milk each, Amelia and Phil went back to Amelia's room to continue with their playing.

Chris was about to apologise for possibly being too forward, but then thought it would be best if he just remained quiet. If there had been a problem he would have been told by now, and by bringing the subject up again, he risked making the situation worse. Deciding that he should probably go so as not to overstay his welcome, he thanked Clare for her hospitality, said his goodbyes and headed off to his car.

"I'll just see him off" said Elizabeth as she followed Chris outside. Chris was just about to get in his car when Elizabeth said "Thank you once again for helping with Jeff's surgery today. It couldn't have been easy for either you or Martin to work together, but I'm glad you were able to put your differences aside and help Jeff. I hope this may be the start of an improvement of your relationship with Martin and his family. By the way, I liked what you said to Phil earlier too, it was very non committal and non-threatening so congratulations on some quick thinking. Drive safely won't you" Elizabeth said as she gave him a small hug and a light peck on the cheek as a thank you.

Chris, not expecting the peck on the cheek grew slightly embarrassed and turned a fiery red and mumbled something before he reversed his car out of the driveway and headed back to Portwenn with a smile on his face that lasted well into the next day.

Meanwhile, back inside the house Clare refrained from asking any questions regarding Chris while Martin was present. She had sensed that to do so could create some awkwardness and as Martin had just saved Jeff's life, she felt she should spare him any unpleasantness. She did however remind herself silently to speak to Louisa about the situation at a later date. Now that she had actually met Chris, she felt that she had some grounds to initiate a conversation regarding him with Louisa. If for no other reason she felt she should know the full situation to avoid making any embarrassing social gaffes.

Martin had stiffened in his chair after his father had left the room, waiting to be bombarded by awkward questions, but when none arrived he relaxed once again and was able to provide answers to Clare's questions regarding Jeff's current status and what he would need for his aftercare. Clare listened carefully and after all of her questions had been answered to her satisfaction she thanked Martin once again for performing the surgery.

Not long after they thanked Clare for their afternoon tea, then got into the Lexus and headed back to Portwenn. It had been a long and very stressful day, and Martin was glad when Phil had finally gone to sleep and it was time for their bedtime.

Lying in bed together, Louisa broached the subject now that Martin was relaxed.

"You did a great job today Martin. Clare and Elizabeth and no doubt Jeff were very grateful. You seemed to mange OK operating with Chris too".

"Funnily enough, it's the first time that I've ever seen him in the operating theatre. He's very competent and was certainly of use with today's procedure. Initially I was a bit taken aback when I discovered that he was to be assisting me, but as I said earlier the man still means nothing at all to me. I can't find the energy within myself to feel anything for him at all, be it positive or negative. Unless I'm mistaken though, Elizabeth seems to have developed some sort of friendship with him. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a bit more of him in the future, so I may as well get used to it I suppose. I must admit I was a bit worried as to what he would say when Phil asked him who he was, but I think I can live with "Doc Chris" as it's a title that has no mention to our relationship" said Martin

"Yes, I was pleasantly surprised with his answer too" said Louisa. "However I think we may have to figure out what we're going to say to Phil when he eventually asks if he has another grandfather or grandmother, as the topic will come up regularly when he's at Pre School. We need to know how to answer him so we're not put on the spot."

"I hadn't really thought of that" admitted Martin worriedly, "but you're right of course. Terry's due to come out on parole soon, so that's one problem fixed. Your Mum will be a harder one to explain. My mother we can ignore as Phil thinks Aunty Joan is his grandmother, and therefore Uncle Phil would have been his 'grandfather' so we can just say that Grandma's husband died and that should solve that problem. My father can stay as 'Doc Chris'. He may get to attend the occasional family meal thanks to Elizabeth, but he hasn't earned the title of grandfather by any stretch of the imagination."

"That's very well thought out Martin, I think that will work as long as my Dad is released before he's asked any questions on the topic, so hopefully we should be OK. We'll just have to think a bit more about what to say about my Mum, but no doubt it will come to us when the time is right. So Martin, you must be feeling very tired after a long morning here in Portwenn and then followed by such a full on afternoon with Jeff's surgery" said Louisa who was now busy running her hand through Martin's hair.

"Actually", said Martin who was finding it very hard to concentrate now, "I'm not feeling very tired at all." To demonstrate this he pulled Louisa to him and began to show her just how awake he was.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR**

**Pulling Together**

Saturday morning was busy as usual at Martin's surgery and he was glad when he could finally head home for lunch. Phil was still excited about everything that had happened the day before and was continually asking questions about the operation.

"Daddy, was it hard operating on Amelia's daddy? What did Doc Chris do to help? Is Dochris a vascular surgeon too?" Martin answered all of Phil's questions to the best of his ability, and was slightly amused at how quickly it took for the name Doc Chris to morph into the one word. It looked like Phil had christened his father Dochris, and that Dochris was more than likely the name that was going to stick. Martin was amused by this so didn't correct Phil, and in fact encouraged him in his use of the word.

"Dochris helped me by doing the parts of the operation that needed to be done at the same time that I was doing other things. Some times more than one pair of hands is needed, and that's when it's good to have someone assisting, and yes Dochris is a vascular surgeon too. I'm going to go and visit Amelia's Daddy in the hospital this afternoon, did you want to come with me and visit Amelia?" Martin asked

"Yes please Daddy. Is Mummy coming too?"

"Yes Mummy is coming too, and so is Grandma. We'll be ready to leave in an hour's time, so you may wish to pack some more toys into your backpack to play with Amelia at her house."

Phil thought this was a good idea so raced off to his room to pack some of his favourite toys.

"He's been very excited all morning" said Louisa. "He has been driving me to distraction with all of his questions about the operation. Hopefully a visit with Amelia will wear him out a bit" Louisa said. "I've told Joan we'll be leaving at 1:30 so she should be here soon."

"That's good, the timing should work out well. We'll have time to drop Joan and Phil off at Clare and Jeff's house so the children can play with Aunty Joan and Elizabeth while we pick up Clare and bring her in with us to see Jeff".

"That should work out well Martin, but you seem to have forgotten one very important thing about today" said Louisa.

"What have I forgotten?" asked Martin as he started to think through possible things that he may have forgotten.

"You've forgotten to kiss me hello" said Louisa. "It's your duty, to provide me with enough kisses so that I don't have to chase after Phil, remember?" Louisa said with a smile.

"How remiss of me" said Martin" let me fix the problem immediately" he said as he took her into his arms and gave her a gentle kiss. Louisa pulled Martin down closer to her as she stood on her toes and returned the kiss with some passion. Martin was quite distracted by this time and had just about forgotten that they were standing in the family room when he was brought back to his senses by the presence of Joan who had shouted a friendly 'yoohoo' as she entered the house and found them.

"Aunty Joan, you're here already" said Martin

"Yes, I'm here Marty, but I'm not early. It looks like you got distracted and lost track of the time" said Aunty Joan with a smile, glad to see that all seemed to be running smoothly with Martin and Louisa's marriage.

"Hmmph" said Martin now thoroughly embarrassed. "I'll just go and get Phil so we can leave" said Martin making a strategic retreat.

"Looks like I came in at the wrong time Louisa" said Joan. "I'll knock next time so you get a bit more warning" she said with a grin.

Louisa just smiled and was thankfully saved from needing to make a comment by Phil who came running in to give Joan a hug.

With them all being ready now, they headed off to Martin's car to begin the trip to Truro.

By the time they got to the Stone's house, Martin and Louisa were glad to be dropping Phil off to play with Amelia for a while as he had kept them busy for the whole trip with multitudes of questions about Jeff's surgery, Dochris, The human appendix and operations in general.

Picking up Clare and waving goodbye to Joan, Elizabeth and the kids, they headed off to the hospital to visit Jeff.

Jeff was awake when they arrived so while Clare went over to kiss him hello, Martin went straight to his chart to check his progress.

"Well Martin?" said Jeff. "What's your verdict?" he said with a smile. "As you were the surgeon who did the procedure, and the staff knew you were coming in today they've left it to you to tell me what's what. Mind you I had a quick look at my chart myself when I got back from visiting the toilet earlier, and all seems fine on paper."

"I'll need to check your wounds and how they're healing, but your chart as you say, looks good. How are you feeling?" Martin asked

"Horrible", said Jeff "But that's to be expected. I have a feeling I could be feeling a whole lot worse than I am. I'm certainly feeling much better than I was yesterday" said Jeff. "Did you want to check my wound?"

"I'm just off to get a coffee" said Louisa tactfully, "Would anyone else like one?"

"I'll have one thanks "said Martin

"And I'd love one too. I'll come with you, and leave these two to talk about blood and gore for a few minutes" said Clare following Louisa out of the door.

Martin moved to Jeff's wound and lifted the bandages to examine how well they were healing. After a brief examination he proclaimed himself satisfied with everything and replaced the bandages and made some notes on Jeff's chart.

"Thanks once again Martin for doing the operation. No doubt it would have gone fine with the other surgeons too, but I had seen your work and knew you'd do a top rate job".

"I was happy to do it. It was interesting doing some keyhole surgery again as I hadn't actually done any for a while so I enjoyed the challenge."

"So I take it that you managed OK with your Dad helping? He assisted me the other day and I found him to be a good surgeon. I find it hard to imagine what it would be like working side by side with my father as our professions were so diverse that obviously I never experienced that. It would be a funny feeling I imagine, especially as you were leading and he was assisting."

"His assistance was beneficial during the procedure" Martin replied.

Jeff understood this to mean that the conversation was closed, so left it for the moment feeling that Martin was entitled to his privacy, but tried to make it known that he would be available as a sounding board should the need ever arise.

"The nurses had fun trying to shave my chest in preparation for the surgery. It took them several razors to get it clear enough for you. Clare's going to think she's got the wrong guy in bed with her when I get home, at least until all of my chest hair grows back" said Jeff with a smile.

Martin relaxed, realising that Jeff was changing the topic for his benefit. "You never know, she might like the new you" he said with a smile, remembering Louisa saying that she liked the fact that he wasn't a hairy man.

"You could be right" Jeff said as he turned to see Clare and Louisa coming through the door.

"Could be right about what?" Clare asked.

"Sorry, secret men's talk" said Jeff as the Clare and Louisa sat down on the 2 remaining chairs in the room.

"No matter, I'll get it out of you later" said Clare with a smile. "So Martin, how did the wound look?"

"It appears to be healing well, and Jeff should be able to come home with us after I've spoken to a few people. I'll leave you to talk while I head off to see the relevant staff members.

Martin headed out the door while Clare and Louisa entertained Jeff with some conversation, while Clare started to pack up some of Jeff's things in preparation for his discharge.

A while later Martin returned followed by a nurse who gave Jeff some papers to sign, and a prescription for his medication for the next couple of days. Clare and Louisa went to collect the medication while Martin assisted Jeff to get changed. Jeff was ready by the time the women had returned. He then sat in the wheelchair that the nurse had brought in with her earlier and was wheeled out to the car and helped into the back seat by Martin. When Clare arrived back after returning the wheel chair Martin drove them slowly back to the Stone's house. Once there he helped Jeff up to his bedroom making sure that Jeff promised not to overdo things. He also said that if he continued healing at this rate he would be able to return to work full time In approximately 9 days, and probably be able to work for a half day come this following Friday.

Martin then collected his family and they returned home, to leave Jeff to settle back in without the stress of visitors in the house. Jeff continued to heal and was back at work by the following week.

Louisa's holidays were drawing to an end with just one more week of holidays left. Things were settling down and going fine until the Tuesday afternoon.

Having been at home all morning, Phil was now at Joan's house for the afternoon so that Louisa could start on some paperwork that needed to be done before she returned to school. Martin was on a house call on the Bodmin Moor and out of phone range when Joan tripped over a mat and fell on her arm awkwardly. Landing on the floor she cried out in pain while Phil watched her in terror. "Grandma! Grandma! are you OK?"

Lying motionless for a few moments, trying to control her pain, Joan groaned and said, "I'm OK Phil, but I've hurt my shoulder and I can't get up. Can you bring the phone to me please" she said with ragged breaths.

Phil quickly brought the cordless phone to Joan and she dialled Louisa's number with her right hand while lying flat on the floor.

"Hello"

"Louisa, it's me Joan. I've fallen and hurt myself, can you come over immediately please?"

"I'll be right there" Louisa replied as she hung up the phone, grabbed her bag and headed next door.

Phil opened the door for her as soon as she arrived and Louisa raced in to see Joan lying on the floor in obvious pain.

"I'll call Martin" she said as she dialled his number on her mobile phone, only to find that it he was out of range. She then called Pauline and told her of the situation and asked her to keep trying for Martin on his phone."

"What about Dochris?" asked Phil. "He's a doctor too, and he only lives across the road, he might be home."

"Smart boy Phil" said Louisa.

"Do you have Chris' phone number Joan?"

"Yes, it's programmed in to my phone" she barely managed to get the words out.

Louisa picked up Joan's phone and scrolled through the address book until she found Chris' number. Selecting the number she dialled and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"Hello"

"Hello, Chris, It's Louisa here. I'm across the road at Joan's house. She's fallen and hurt herself and Martin's out of phone range, could you come and have a look at her?"

"I'll be right over" said Chris as he hung up the phone and raced across the road.

The front door was still open so Chris came straight in to see his sister lying on the floor in obvious pain. "Oh Joanie, what have you done to yourself?" he said as he bent down to get a closer look.

"Louisa, does Martin have any first aid equipment at your house, I don't have much at mine, and I'm guessing that Joan's first aid kit is going to be pretty minimal."

"Yes, he keeps a spare medical bag at our house in case he's called out while at home, that way it saves a trip back to the surgery. I'll go over and get it" she said as she raced next door.

"Is she going to be OK Dochris?" asked Phil.

"I think Grandma will be just fine after we've made her a bit more comfortable" said Chris gently examining Joan's shoulder and arm.

Louisa returned in just a few minutes, obviously out of breath but carrying Martin's medical bag in triumph.

"Perhaps, you'd like to take Phil to play with some of his excellent looking toys while I take a look at his grandma" said Chris to Louisa, not wanting him to see Joan in so much pain.

Louisa, sizing up the situation agreed and took Phil into his play room.

"Now Joanie, let's take a closer look at you. Does this hurt? How about this?"

It looks like you've been lucky Joan. You appear to have fractured your collar bone, but your arm itself seems OK. With this type of injury, you won't need surgery. You will need a sling though and pain killers, and the injury will eventually heal itself.

Making sure to move Joan's arm as little as possible, Chris got some frozen peas from the freezer and wrapped them in a towel. This he then applied directly to Joan's injured collarbone. Next, he retrieved a pain killer from Martin's bag and administered it. Locating a sling in the bottom compartment, he removed it from the bag and folded the triangle around Joan's injured forearm with the pointy end toward her elbow and then he carefully tied the other 2 ends around Joan's neck after carefully assisting her to sit up. The elbow belonging to her damaged left shoulder was now bent and supported across Joan's chest.

Chris was just about to ask Louisa to come in and assist him in getting Joan up into her chair when Martin raced through the door.

"Aunty Joan, I got here as quickly as I could, how are you?" asked Martin as he quickly took in the sight of Joan's arm encased in a sling.

"I tripped and fell awkwardly on my left arm. Chris says that he feels it's a fractured collarbone. He's put ice on it, given me a pain killer and put it in a sling as you can see."

"I was just about to ask Louisa to help me to assist Joan into a chair" said Chris to Martin. "Can you give me a hand to make her a bit more comfortable?"

Both men gently assisted Joan to get into a nearby chair, not her usual recliner rocker as that would have been too hard for her to get out of. After she was seated, Martin checked Joan over too, just to be sure. He agreed with Chris' diagnosis and his first aid treatment of her.

On hearing Martin arrive, Louisa and Phil came out of Phil's playroom.

"Daddy! Daddy! Dochris helped fix Grandma's arm when she hurt it. We tried to get you on the phone but you were out of range" said Phil.

"Yes, he's fixed her arm up nicely" said Martin. "Now we just need to decide on the best course of action from here. As its most likely a fractured collarbone Aunty Joan, the treatment means that you will need to keep it in a sling for 4-8 weeks until it heals. We really need to have it x-rayed to make sure that this is the correct diagnosis; however I am fairly certain that it is. Probably an ambulance is unwarranted in this case, especially as it will take a long time for it to get here so one of us will need to drive you to Truro to get it x-rayed. At least if we're wrong and surgery is needed, you will already be at the hospital".

Before Martin could say that he would take her in, Chris said "Look, Phil needs to be looked after, and that's best done by either Louisa or yourself. How about I drive Joan to Truro and wait with her while she gets her x-ray done. As I'm on staff she may even get in a bit earlier than would otherwise be the case. I'll pack some overnight things in case she needs to have surgery and I need to stay at a motel. I'll call you both once we have any news. Joanie, we had better get an overnight case put together for you too, just in case you need surgery and have to stay over."

"He's right Marty, you and Louisa have Phil to look after" said Joan, and then looking at her brother said "That would be good Chris, if you're happy to do that" by this stage, Joan was starting to wonder if Chris' change of heart may actually be genuine.

"Hmmm, that would be good, thanks" said Martin.

"Thank you Chris that would be great" said Louisa giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you also for helping out until Martin arrived."

"Any time. My pleasure" said Chris beaming.

"I'll pack a bag for you Joan, if you'd like to tell me what you want, while Chris goes and puts a bag together for himself" Louisa offered.

Soon they were on their way, with Chris driving slowly but surely over the bumpier roads heading off to Truro. While they were driving to the hospital, Louisa rang Clare and Elizabeth to let them know about Joan's accident and to fill them in on all of the details, they were sorry to hear of Joan's misfortune but were glad to hear that Chris was able to come and help almost immediately. Elizabeth said that she would head over to the hospital and meet them there to provide some moral support.

As Pauline had been told to cancel all of Martin's afternoon appointments when he heard of Joan's emergency, Martin didn't need to go back to work so the two of them locked up Joan's house and headed home.

"I was so scared when we couldn't get a hold of you Martin, and then Phil suggested we call Chris. He came straight over and was so calm it made Phil and I feel much better. Did he do everything correctly Martin?"

"Yes, I was impressed with his first aid skills"

"It was good of him to take Joan in too" said Louisa.

"Hmmm" said Martin, still not ready to trust his father completely, but slowly starting to wonder to himself if maybe they could eventually develop some type of professional friendship of sorts.

While waiting to hear from Chris regarding Joan, they ate their evening meal and Phil had his bath and story time session. Being tired from the day, he was soon fast asleep, leaving Martin and Louisa free to discuss the afternoon's happenings.

Martin was just about to call the hospital to check on Joan when Chris called to say that Joan had been x-rayed, and that they were correct in that it was a fractured clavicle. He also mentioned that Elizabeth had met them at the hospital and had invited them both to spend the night at her house rather than Joan having to endure the long trip back to Portwenn, and that he would bring Joan back tomorrow afternoon when he had finished his surgery session for the morning.

Martin thanked him for the call and said he'd pass on the message to Louisa and asking Chris to pass on their thanks to Elizabeth for her hospitality. He then hung up the phone and repeated the conversation to Louisa.

"Poor Joan, at least she's got Elizabeth to help her get dressed tomorrow, and I've got a few more days left of my holidays to help her this week. We'll have to put our heads together to work out what we'll do next week though, when I'm back at school and Phil starts at pre-school" said Louisa.

"Yes, you're right" said Martin. "Time enough for that tomorrow though" he said as he led her upstairs to bed.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE**

**Confidences**

Joan was glad when they finally arrived at Elizabeth's house. What with the long trip and the pain from her shoulder she was exhausted. Knowing that she was unlikely to be able to get much sleep wasn't making her feel much better either.

After a light supper Elizabeth helped Joan to get into her pyjamas, brush her teeth and get into bed. Chris had given her another pain killer before she had gone upstairs and it must have contained a mild sedative as she felt quite drowsy. Soon after her head hit the pillow she was able to doze off. Luckily Joan was able to sleep on her back in some comfort, so was able to get a reasonable night's sleep after all.

After getting Joan settled Elizabeth came back down into the family room and offered Chris a cup of tea or coffee.

"I'd love a tea thank you" said Chris, finally relaxing after the long day. His body had recovered remarkably well from his accident, but it still tired a lot more easily than it used to.

"Milk, sugar?"

"Black please, no sugar thanks" replied Chris.

Soon Elizabeth returned with two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. Placing the tray on the coffee table, Elizabeth sat next to Chris on the sofa and passed his cup to him.

"You must be really tired after today. From all accounts you were the man of the moment" said Elizabeth. "If you're lucky it may even have helped your relationship with Martin somewhat."

"I hope so" said Chris, "But I'm not really expecting anything. I deserve the treatment I'm receiving now, and I can't blame Martin at all for his treatment of me. I'm sure if our roles were reversed, I'd have told me to get lost by now."

"Things are no doubt going to be hard for a long time to come" said Elizabeth "But hang in there, Rome wasn't built in a day after all, and you need to establish a foundation of trust between you before anything else can be built on it."

"You're a very wise woman" said Chris, thinking that Elizabeth's late husband had been a lucky man. He had been married himself of course, but looking back over the years he didn't think that Margaret had ever really loved him for who he was or could be, just their sexual compatibility and the status and wealth she enjoyed by being the wife of a surgeon. Looking at the relationship that Martin and Louisa shared, and the relationship that Elizabeth enjoyed with Jeff her son, Chris started to really realize what a shallow and unfulfilled life he had led. Sure, he had enjoyed position and power and all of the luxuries that wealth could provide, but that was all gone now and he could see how shallow it all had been now that he was able to look back.

He also realised that he had never had a really close friend in his life, let alone a wife that he could turn to no matter what, and know that she was there to support him. Looking at all he should have held dear in the past and all that he now knew, he called himself all kinds of a fool and swore to himself that he would never make that mistake again. Family and friends were much more valuable than anything money could buy, and if he was ever in a position to marry again he would marry for love and nothing else that was for sure.

"Penny for your thoughts" Elizabeth said. "I'm not sure what you were thinking of, but you appeared to be thinking deep thoughts".

"Sorry" said Chris. "Forgive me I was just looking back at my life and thinking what a fool I was and how much my stupidity has cost me, not financially of course but emotionally. Still, I don't want to bore you but I will say that your friendship means a lot to me and I thank you for it."

"You're welcome" said Elizabeth taking one of Chris' hands and holding it between hers.

"I realize that I would probably have disliked the old you intensely, but I have only met the 'new you' so to speak and I like to take people as I find them. I can see that you are sorry for your selfishness in the past and are trying to make amends and I'll do my best to help you as I believe family to be vitally important, and I think ultimately Martin needs a relationship with you even if just a casual one, as much as you need one with him and his family. Now, I'll show you where everything is as I need to get some sleep and I'm sure you do too, as you've got surgery tomorrow morning haven't you?"

Chris followed Elizabeth upstairs after she had locked up and turned off the lights, bringing his overnight bag with him.

Elizabeth showed him the bathroom, the toilet and his room which was across the hallway from her room and Joan's spare room. Opening the door, she ushered him in gave him a brief kiss goodnight and left him to it.

When in bed, Chris took the time to contemplate the day. He'd been thanked by Martin, kissed on the cheek by Louisa, and thanked by Joan. Phil had given him a nickname of Dochris and actually thought about him when Joan was initially hurt and Martin was out of contact. Best of all, he had someone he could talk to who wasn't holding his past against him and didn't seem to find him physically repulsive. Chris smiled happily to himself as he drifted off to sleep still feeling Elizabeth's kiss on his lips.

Elizabeth was up early the next morning so she could give Joan her painkiller and help her to get dressed, showered etc and provide her with breakfast. Chris was up soon after and had his shower when Joan had finished hers. The bathroom was small but clean and tidy and reminded him of Elizabeth, especially the smell of the shower gel and shampoo. Chris found himself smelling it and remembering the kiss from last night.

After his shower Chris was about to shave when he had the sudden idea that maybe a beard would be a good way to hide some of the scarring on his face. Looking closely at himself, he gauged where the beard was likely to grow in and how it would look, and feeling that it might just be the way to go. Unfortunately, Chris was like Martin in that he was not a particularly hairy man, and really only needed to shave every second day. Growing a beard was going to take him a long time. Looking at himself in the mirror now, he was only slightly scruffy but didn't want to look any more unattractive than he already did especially while Elizabeth was present. When was he going to grow the beard? That was the major question in his mind. If he started now it would grow sooner, but he'd look scruffy this morning. Maybe he'd start tomorrow and try to avoid seeing anyone until it had grown in. With his decision made, Chris got out his electric shaver and began to shave. With all of his scarring, it was virtually impossible to shave with a blade now as there were too many indentations in his skin.

His morning ablutions complete, Chris joined Elizabeth and Joan for breakfast. "Good morning everyone, how are you feeling Joanie?"

"Not as bad as yesterday, but not wonderful, that's for sure" said Joan

"I take it that you've already had your painkiller?" asked Chris.

"Yes, Elizabeth gave it to me earlier on, and it's taken the edge off the pain a bit."

"Good. Hopefully the trip home won't be too horrible for you. I have to work this morning but should be back here by about 1pm. I can then take you back home then if that suits you?"

"Yes that will be fine" said Joan.

Chris finished his breakfast and said his goodbyes and headed outside to go to his car. Elizabeth followed him and said "Have a nice day, and drive carefully. We'll see you when you get back" then giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she gave a small wave then headed back inside to Joan.

Joan was in a bit of quandary, she really liked Elizabeth and felt that maybe she should fill her in a bit on Chris, but then Elizabeth was a grown woman and no doubt capable of running her own life without Joan's help. There was also the fact that maybe her brother was actually genuine this time, and he had changed his ways. If this was the case, who was she to try to make trouble. Joan decided to hold her tongue and just answer Elizabeth's questions if she asked any.

Elizabeth, seeing the various expressions running across Joan's face had a bit of an idea what she was thinking, and thought that the best thing would probably be to bring things out into the open.

"You're worried about me and my friendship with Chris aren't you?" Elizabeth said.

"What makes you say that?" said Joan cautiously

"You're thinking about how bad he was as a brother, and how appalling he was as a father to poor Martin, and you're worried that he's going to hurt me aren't you?" she replied

"How did you know about Chris' past?" Joan asked

"He told me everything, and as far as I know he held nothing back. I know that he was a horrible brother, and how he had made Martin feel unwanted for all of his life, given him over to you during the boarding school holidays, taken him from you as a punishment when he felt like it, belittled you and Martin at every turn, especially Martin and allowed his ex wife Margaret to do the same thing. He's told me more too, but that was the general gist of it".

"He told you all of that? Well that is surprising. I would have imagined that he would try very hard to keep his past from you. Maybe his change of heart is genuine after all." Mused Joan

"I think so. I think the accident really shook him up, and having nearly died he took the opportunity to take stock of his life and didn't like what he saw. I really think he's trying his best to change, and I've told him that I will help him all that I can. I've also said that if I had met the old him I would no doubt have wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but as I've only met the reformed Chris his past sins are really just abstract concepts to me as I was never affected by them, so I can be friends with the new Chris and help him all I can" Elizabeth replied.

"You don't find his scarring repulsive then?" asked Joan

"It's not what I'd call pretty, but it certainly doesn't repel me in fact I hardly even notice it now" Elizabeth replied. "He has lovely blue eyes, and they seem so sad a lot of the time, it brings out the mothering instinct in me I suppose.

"I see what you mean about the scarring, I never see it now either. I'm used to it too I suppose" said Joan.

"Anyway, I've been thinking" Elizabeth said. "You're not going to be able manage very well on your own for a while, and Louisa will be going back to work soon. I notice that you've got a spare room at your house, how about I come back with you and stay for a while until your arm is improved enough for you to manage on your own. I can help you with Phil too which will save Martin and Louisa having to find a new babysitter and we can have a nice time catching up. That's if you're happy to have a visitor that is?"

"Are you sure? What about Clare and Amelia? It would be great to have you, and it would solve a lot of problems, but I don't want to put you out at all" said Joan.

"Clare's not working so she and Amelia will be fine. Plus Amelia starts Pre School this term too so Clare will have plenty of time to herself. I will be of much more use at your house, if you're happy to have me."

"That would be wonderful. You could come down with us, and I'm sure Chris could give you a lift back here on one of his surgery days when you're ready to come home."

"That's settled then" said Elizabeth. "I'll just get my bag together and give Clare a call to let her know what's going on.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY SIX**

**Feelings**

Joan and Elizabeth had a snack around 11:00am and then Joan headed upstairs to have a nap before she had to endure the trip home. Chris got back a bit earlier than planned, arriving at 12:30. As he walked through the door, Elizabeth could see at a glance that something wasn't right with him. He walked in slowly, shoulders slightly hunched and a miserable look on his face.

"What's wrong, what's the matter Chris?"

"Sorry, I was hoping my mood wouldn't show. Our patient died on the operating table this morning. She was a mum with a 4 year old son. I know its part of the job and to tell you the truth it never used to bother the old me, but now I think of Phil and Amelia and it really brings it home. Now a young child will have to grow up without a Mum, plus the face of the Father as my partner told him the news was devastating. I don't know why I'm feeling so bad there was nothing we could do and I didn't know her, but now I just feel so sad for her family. Don't mind me; I'll no doubt snap out of it soon." Chris said despondently.

Without stopping to think, Elizabeth gathered him to her and hugged him pulling his head into her shoulder as she murmured comforting words to him. Chris had come back feeling so low and depressed and now he was being held by this wonderful and compassionate woman, and it wasn't long before he began to feel so much better. He'd never had anyone he could lean on, or turn to before and it was a heady sensation.

After a while, Elizabeth's close proximity started to elicit an involuntary response from him and he knew it was time to disengage from the embrace before he embarrassed himself by letting on that he thought of her as more than just a good friend.

Chris lifted his head and loosened his hold on Elizabeth and was just about to break apart from her when Elizabeth pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him with some passion. Chris pulled back to look at her face so he could get a better idea of what she was thinking, and seeing desire in her expression and not pity as he had feared, he bent down once again and kissed her back.

It had been a long time since Chris had been this close to a woman as his last years with Margaret had been very barren ones. Elizabeth had been a widow for years, and she too was feeling that it had been a long time since she'd been held in just such a way. Neither of them had expected to find someone else this late in their lives but the chemistry between them was certainly apparent as their kiss deepened.

Pulling Elizabeth closer to him, Chris ran a hand through her hair and the other caressed her back. Elizabeth was surprised at the effect Chris' kiss had on her, and she could feel the effect that she was having on him as he was holding her so close. Things were getting quite heated when they heard Joan's door opening and her steady footsteps approaching.

When Joan entered the room she found Chris and Elizabeth sitting on the opposite side of the room from each other, both with flushed faces. Chris has his legs crossed and was reading a Women's Weekly magazine which was sitting in his lap.

Joan was no innocent and was pretty sure that she had interrupted something, but not willing to let her mind go there , after all Chris was her brother and there were some things you just didn't want to think too deeply about. Instead she said "Has Elizabeth mentioned to you yet that she is coming down to Portwenn with us to stay with me while I recuperate? I hope that an extra passenger is OK with you?"

Chris cleared his throat and said "That's fine. It's very kind of you Elizabeth to offer to come and help Joanie out."

After a quick meal, they put their bags in the car and headed back to Portwenn. When they arrived at Joan's house, Chris helped Joan inside and then brought in their bags. He took Joan's to her room and Elizabeth's to the spare room. Chris then offered to help Elizabeth to make the bed up. Joan had not been expecting guests and of course was now unable to make the bed herself thanks to her injury.

Settling Joan in a chair with a cup of tea and good TV program, they quickly prepared the bed and headed back out to Joan.

"Thank you for bringing me down Chris. I'm just about to prepare our meal if you would care to join us. It's the least we can do after all of your help" asked Elizabeth.

"If that's OK with you Joanie? I must admit that I haven't thought as far ahead a dinner yet" said Chris.

"By all means" said Joan. "As Elizabeth said, it's the least we can do after all of your help."

While Elizabeth was cooking, Chris took his bag back to his house and changed into some warmer clothes, and Joan rang Martin and Louisa to tell them she was back and that Elizabeth was going to be staying with her for a while to help out until she was better. She had just hung up from her conversation when Chris returned carrying a bottle of wine with him and a small gift for them both.

Handing the small wrapped parcels to both of them he watched as they both unwrapped them to find a delicate hand made bracelet inside. A lovely one done in brown stones with silver for Joan, and a pretty delicate bracelet in blue and silver for Elizabeth.

"Thank you Chris, I love it" said Elizabeth as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It's very lovely, thank you" Joan said as she looked at hers thinking that it would go very well with her favourite linen blouse.

"Dinner is just about ready" said Elizabeth. "If you wouldn't mind helping Joan to the table Chris; I'll bring the food out".

Elizabeth had outdone herself, she'd put together a nice homemade soup with toast, and whipped up some nice vegetarian omelettes. Knowing that Joan wasn't able to cut up her food, she thought that this would be an easy meal for her to eat with one hand.

They were enjoying their meal when there was a knock on the front door. Elizabeth went to open it, and found Martin on the doorstep.

"Hello Elizabeth, I've just come to see how Aunty Joan's feeling" said Martin.

"Come in Marty" Joan said. "I'm feeling a lot better than I was yesterday. I managed to get a good night's sleep last night, and Elizabeth and Chris have been looking after me. As you already know, Elizabeth has also come down for the duration to help me while I recuperate and to help with Phil when Louisa goes back to work."

"Yes, thank you very much Elizabeth, that will be a big help to all of us." said Martin.

"Can I look at your arm Aunty Joan?" asked Martin, wishing to reassure himself.

"Yes of course Marty, just be careful won't you, it's still very painful."

"Of course I will" said Martin gruffly as he checked her arm. "Everything seems fine, how are you for pain killers? Do you need a new prescription?"

"She's starting to run a bit low" said Elizabeth. "If you think she will be in need of some more, then another prescription would be good please."

Martin took out his prescription pad and wrote out the prescription and tearing it off handed it to Elizabeth.

"I can collect if for you if you want Elizabeth" said Chris. "I need to go to see Mrs Tishell tomorrow anyway so I can pick it up for you while I'm there if you'd like."

"That would be great Chris" said Elizabeth handing him the prescription.

"How was your trip back, not too painful I hope?" Martin asked his Aunt.

"Not wonderful, but Chris drove slowly and carefully so we got back in one piece, and Elizabeth made a lovely meal, so all in all I've been very well treated by everyone today" said Joan with a smile.

Martin seeing that everything was fine with Joan soon left them to the remainder of their meal and headed back home to Louisa.

By the end of the meal, Joan was visibly beginning to show just how tired she was so Elizabeth helped her to her room, assisted her to get changed and got her comfortably in bed.

Returning to the living area she found Chris had headed to the kitchen and had begun doing the dishes.

"No need to do that, you've had a long day. I can finish them off later on" Elizabeth said.

"You made the meal, it's only fair that I help clean up, anyway it's not a chore when shared with good company Chris said with a smile."

"Thank you for the compliment" Elizabeth said, and thank you once again for the bracelet, it's beautiful. You're very talented" she said as she started drying the dishes.

They continued on in silence for a while, and it wasn't long before the dishes had all been put away and the kitchen was back to its normal clean state.

Chris didn't want to push his luck and bring up their kiss from before in case Elizabeth was now sorry and embarrassed, so instead he thanked her once again for the meal and the help she was providing for Joan and said that he must be off as it was getting late. Elizabeth followed him to the door and seeing that Chris was about to leave without giving her a goodnight kiss she stopped him before he could go any further and pulled him to her.

Martin, who had just emptied the inside rubbish bin into the larger bin outside was therefore a witness to Chris and Elizabeth in a close embrace on the front porch of Joan's house. Not knowing what to do initially he was frozen in place. Coming to his senses he silently went back into his house and locked the front door and headed upstairs to his and Louisa's bedroom.

"What's wrong Martin? You're looking very pale" Louisa asked in concern. "It's not Joan is it? She's OK isn't she?"

"Joan's fine" said Martin "and from what I've just witnessed it appears that my father and Elizabeth are more than fine" he said with a shudder.

"What do you mean?" Louisa asked puzzled.

"I mean, I've just seen my father and Elizabeth in a close embrace on Aunty Joan's front porch. It looks like their friendship has been progressing rapidly".

"Oh, I see what you mean then" said Louisa. "It must be a funny feeling to see your own father kissing someone who's not your mother, and in public too" sympathised Louisa.

"I'm not sure what I think about it, but I certainly could have done without seeing it" said Martin.

"Some things are definitely best forgotten, and fast" said Louisa with a smile. "If you come here, I'll do my best to help you forget all about it" she said with a smile as Martin joined her.

Some time later, lying cuddled up together Louisa asked Martin if he'd forgotten it yet.

"Forgotten what?"

"Never mind" said Louisa, thinking '_mission accomplished'_.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN**

**Beginnings**

It was breakfast time, and Martin and Louisa were discussing Louisa's return to work on the following Monday, and Phil's impending first day at pre-school. Phil could have started pre-school earlier, but Louisa and Martin had been late registering Phil for the pre-school class running from Louisa's school and had missed out on a place for him. Fortunately now that Phil had turned four, a place had finally become available and he was now able to attend.

"Don't forget Martin, we've promised to drop Phil off at his pre-school class on Monday for his first day. Mrs Burton, Phil's teacher has said that its fine if we want to stay for a while until he settles in. I've rearranged my diary to allow for me to come for the morning if required and Elizabeth has agreed to pick Phil up and take him home to Joan. Did you remember to schedule time out on Monday morning with Pauline when I mentioned it to you last week?" Louisa asked.

"Yes, I've arranged my schedule so that I can be available for Phil's first day.

"You are coming with me on my first day Daddy, aren't you?" Phil asked worriedly.

"Yes Phil, I'm looking forward to it" Martin replied, remembering back to the first day when he was left at boarding school without a backward glance from either of his parents. He swore to himself that he would make sure that Phil never felt that way when it came to his schooling.

"Mummy and I will both be there to meet your new teacher and to see your classroom" replied Martin.

"That's good" said Phil in relief. "Grandma said that Mrs Stone will pick me up after pre-school, until her shoulder is better."

"That's right, as Mummy will have to go back to work, and so will I." Martin said.

"That's OK Daddy, I like Mrs Stone, she and Grandma are good fun."

After finishing his breakfast Martin kissed Louisa goodbye, gave Phil a hug and headed off to work. After cleaning up after breakfast Louisa and Phil headed next door to check on Joan and to see how Elizabeth was managing. Elizabeth saw them walking down the front path and opened the door for Louisa before she could knock.

"Hello, lovely morning isn't it? It's good to see you too Phil" Elizabeth said with a smile. "Grandma's up and dressed and is ready for a visit from her favourite grandson."

"I'm her only grandson" said Phil puzzled. "Aren't I Mummy?"

"Yes you are Phil. That's just an expression" said Louisa giving him a hug. "Go and say hello to Grandma, but be careful not to touch her OK, as you might hurt her shoulder."

Phil ran up to Joan and looked at her sling. It looked wonderful to him, and he was wondering how he could get one of his own, it would be just the thing to carry his toy cars around in.

"Are you ready for your first day at pre-school next week Phil?" Joan asked.

"Yes Grandma. Mummy and Daddy are coming with me too, and I've got my own school bag and everything" he said excitedly.

"Isn't that wonderful" Joan said. "When my arm is feeling better, I'll be able to take you and pick you up from school. That will be good won't it?"

"Yes, you'll like that Grandma, I'll be able to tell you all about my day, and show you what I've made. You wouldn't want to miss out on that would you?" Phil replied.

"You're quite right, I wouldn't want to miss out on that" Joan agreed.

"So Elizabeth, how are you managing looking after Joan? I'm impressed that you're up so early and you're so organised" Louisa said.

"Joan and I are both early risers so it's no problem. We've been having a good time, haven't we Joan. Nothing like having a friend handy to chat with is there?"

"No, apart from the pain in my shoulder, I've been enjoying myself."

"So, have you got everything ready for Phil's first day?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, he's got his backpack, drink bottle, spare clothes in case of any problems, and his name is on everything. He's even got new school shoes with Velcro of course, nothing worse than trying to tie the shoelaces of multiple small children, I can tell you that from experience" said Louisa with a shudder.

"Sounds like you're all set" said Elizabeth as she and Louisa discussed the times that she was to collect Phil.

"Martin and I will be able to talk to Phil's teacher on the first day; I'll be giving her a list of everyone that has my permission to pick up Phil. I'll have your name, Joan's, mine and Martin's on it for the moment. We can always add to the list later on if need be."

Now, Phil and I are planning on going to the seaside for a while and then we're to meet up with Martin for a picnic lunch unless you need me to go out and get anything for you at all?

"We're fine, you two go out and have a good time. The weather's still quite warm so you might as well make the most of it."

"OK then, we'll see you later on" Louisa said as she and Phil went out to enjoy their time at the seaside. When lunch time came Louisa put their picnic things in the car and they drove to the surgery. Martin met them at their car. Surgery had actually run earlier than planned for the morning so they didn't have to wait for him. Folding his long legs into the tiny car Martin was glad that they weren't going to be travelling far before they could get out.

Finding a nice grassy area, with a lovely view of the sea Louisa parked the car and they got out. Martin spread two picnic rugs on the ground and Louisa brought out the food and set it up in the middle of one of the blankets. After putting a selection of food together for Phil they were free to eat their own lunch. Phil finished first and asked if he could go and play with his toy dinosaurs.

"As long as you stay nearby that's fine" Louisa replied as Phil went a little way away from them and started to make a suitable environment for his dinosaurs with leaves, pebbles and sticks.

After they'd finished eating, Martin packed the food away "Lunch was lovely, thank you" said Martin.

"I'm glad" said Louisa giving him a quick kiss and cuddling up against him.

Martin sat with his arm around Louisa watching his little son play with his dinosaurs, and he felt that this moment was just about perfect. He had eaten a satisfying meal, the view was spectacular, he had his lovely wife by his side and they had their son playing happily before them. He still found his happy state hard to accept, feeling that it couldn't last. He had been so used to misery for all of his early life, that accepting that happiness was now a regular part of his life was very hard for him to do. He may not be able to fully accept it, but he was certainly able to fully appreciate it. Moving his head so that he could look directly into Louisa's eyes he said "I love you" and kissed her, trying to show her in his kiss, just how much she meant to him.

Louisa was moved, it wasn't often that she heard Martin say "I love you", even though she knew without a doubt that he did love her. Louisa thought to herself that they really should do this sort of thing more often. With Martin's and her own busy schedules it wasn't often that they were able to get out together as a family, but Louisa determined that she was going to try a lot harder to make sure that they made the effort and actually managed to get out together a lot more."

Phil continued to play happily with his dinosaurs while Martin and Louisa lay back on the rug cuddled in to one another and looked at the beautiful blue sky, both of them thoroughly contented and at peace with the world. Eventually it was time to pack up and head back to the surgery. Fortunately Martin had remembered to remove his suit jacket earlier, so he was able to put it back on, hiding the creases in the back of his shirt that had been created by lying down on the rug.

As it's the last day of the holidays Martin, what do you say we go to Bert's for dinner tonight? Phil loves it there so it will be a treat for him too."

"Well I did check out his kitchen recently and amazingly it seemed to be clean and hygienic, most probably thanks to the new cook so I think we could risk it" he replied.

"I'll book a table for us for 6:30pm then shall I?" Louisa asked.

"Yes, I should be able to get there for then" Martin said as Louisa's car pulled up at the surgery.

"See you tonight" Louisa said after kissing him goodbye.

"Bye bye Daddy" said Phil waving to Martin.

"Goodbye Phil, be a good boy for Mummy won't you" replied Martin as he walked up the surgery steps and waved goodbye.

Martin, Louisa and Phil were seated at a lovely table with a view at Bert's restaurant and were looking at the menu, trying to find a meal that Phil would eat finally he agreed on one and they placed their order. Louisa tired from the day briefly leaned across and rested her head against Martin's shoulder. Instinctively Martin's arm came around her and he kissed the top of her head. Both Louisa and Martin had their backs facing the stairs that formed the entry into the restaurant, and Phil was seated opposite them so they were surprised when Phil suddenly said "Dochris, Dochris, hello Dochris".

Chris was walking down the stairs of the restaurant and heading towards Al so he could be seated. He'd been pleasantly surprised to see Martin and Louisa there with Phil, and quite amazed when he'd seen Martin kiss Louisa in public. Martin was such a private man that Chris didn't think he'd ever seen him show affection to Louisa in public before. Chris had had a long day too and was ready to eat his evening meal. Not being particularly handy in the kitchen he tried to eat out at least once or twice a week to make sure he got a decent meal every now and then.

Chris seeing Phil calling to him gave Phil a small wave and then continued on his way to Al so he could be allocated his table.

"Dochris, Dochris, why don't you come and eat with us?" Phil called out to him. This put Chris in a bit of a fix, as he obviously would have liked to join Martin's family for the meal, but knew that Martin was unlikely to be comfortable with him there.

"Hello Phil, I'm sure your Mummy and Daddy want to have a special night out just with you. I'll come and say bye-bye before I go OK?"

"But I eat with Mummy and Daddy all of the time, can't Dochris eat with us Daddy pleeeeeeeease?"

Martin, not being the most socially adroit person at the best of times was stuck. If he said no, then Phil would be upset all evening, and if he said yes, then he'd have his father at his table. Of the two, he decided that his father's company was easier to cope with than an upset Phil."

"You're welcome to join us if you'd like" he finally said to Chris.

"Are you sure Martin?" Chris asked. "I'm quite happy to eat on my own, I do it regularly."

"Daddy said yes Dochris, you can sit next to me" said Phil.

Deciding to risk it, Chris took the seat next to Phil and placed his order with Al.

"Well Joan seems to be progressing well, and Elizabeth is doing a good job of looking after her" Chris said.

"Yes, we're very lucky that she's offered to stay with her and help out" Louisa said. "Thank you once again for taking her to get her x-rays and bringing them both home with you."

"That was no problem, plus I always feel more secure that the car will get me home with Elizabeth and her mechanical skills on board" said Chris as he then recounted the story of his car breaking down and Elizabeth coming along and fixing it for him.

"Lucky she found you" said Louisa. "Especially as you were out of mobile phone range."

"Yes, I was certainly glad to see another traveller, and it was a double bonus that I actually knew the driver and they could fix the problem" Chris replied.

"So were you in Truro today?" Martin asked.

"Yes, I assisted with an operation this morning" Chris said. "We had to remove a gall bladder, fortunately everything went to plan. I saw Jeff too; he's feeling much better now and is back on deck again."

"That's good, I rang him yesterday and he said he was feeling much improved" Martin said.

"Joan said that Elizabeth has been getting regular updates from Jeff and Clare, and she seems happy with Jeff's progress too" Louisa added.

Bored of the conversation already, Phil said "Dochris, did you know that I start pre-school next week and its at Mummy's big school?"

"Wow" Chris replied "You much be getting really old now then"

"Yes, I am old now. I'm four and Mummy and Daddy are going to take me on Monday and Mrs Stone is going to pick me up when I've finished. When Grandma's better, she's going to pick me up when pre-school finishes. I like Mrs Stone, do you like Mrs Stone Dochris?" Phil asked.

_Talk about out of the mouth of babes Chris thought. _"Yes I like Mrs Stone; she's a very nice lady isn't she?" Chris replied, blushing slightly.

"Yes she is she plays lots of games with me just like Grandma does. She's Amelia's Grandma." Phil said.

Finally the meals arrived and they were all able to eat for a while without having to bother about conversation. Phil was enjoying his meal but had got a bit excited. His cup of orange juice fell from his hands spilling all over Chris's trousers and his own too. Sadly this was soon followed by his plate of spaghetti which fell straight into Phil's lap.

Phil, now covered in orange juice and spaghetti, sat in shock for a few seconds and then burst out crying in shock and dismay. Louisa comforted him then took him away with her to the toilets to clean him up a bit.

Chris mopped up the orange juice on his trousers with his napkin to the best of his ability. Martin offered him his own napkin too as Chris was quite wet.

"Sorry about the orange juice" Martin said gruffly.

"No matter, I'm waterproof and my trousers will wash" Chris replied.

"Hmmm" Martin replied at a loss for anything else to say when suddenly he blurted out "You and Elizabeth seem to bet getting very friendly, I hope you're not leading her on, she doesn't deserve to be treated casually" he said.

Chris felt himself getting defensive and then stopped himself, thinking that now was as good a time as any to get everything out in the open.

"No, I would never intentionally hurt Elizabeth, she means too much to me. I'm just worried that I may unintentionally hurt her. You may as well know that she has shown me that she would not be averse to pursuing a relationship, yet I can't understand what she sees in me. I'm not particularly well off, I've been an arrogant pig all of my life and have only just realised what's important in life and most of all I have these unsightly burn scars over half of my body. She hasn't been put off by the scars on my face, but between you and me, my face was the least affected area on my body. My legs and torso are hideous, how could I subject such a wonderful woman to seeing that sight every day of her life. Margaret would certainly shriek in horror if she saw me now, that's for sure. Not that I care what she thinks any more. No offense Martin, I know that she's your mother but you have to agree that she's a very superficial kind of person just as I used to be. We certainly weren't good for each other, or good to you. I'm so sorry Martin for your childhood, I know I can't give back to you what was taken from you, but I am truly glad that you've found such a wonderful caring wife and have such a lovely son. You're a good father Martin, Phil is a very lucky little boy."

"Do you want to marry her? How serious are you about her?" Martin butten in, not wanting to hear any more at this moment in time.

"I haven't known her long, but she's the best friend I've ever had and I think about her every waking moment, and I would do anything for her. I believe I would be willing to die to protect her if she was in danger" Chris said with such sincerity that Martin was inclined to believe him.

"Then first of all, give Elizabeth the credit of being nothing like the woman who gave birth to me. Unlike her, Elizabeth has depth and compassion. Talk to her and let her make the choice. Don't go making any decisions on her behalf. She wouldn't thank you for it, and she deserves to be fully involved in any decisions made. I'm no expert on relationships, but whenever I've tried to make all of the decisions myself it has caused nothing but pain and anger for Louisa, so if you're smart you'll learn from my mistakes and talk to Elizabeth." Martin finished speaking, amazed at himself for all that he'd said, and for the fact that he and his father seemed to be having an in depth conversation, and what's more, his Father was asking him for advice.

"Thanks Martin, I've lived with Margaret for so many years, I tend to forget that not everyone is as shallow as her. I'll do as you say, and speak to Elizabeth and we'll talk things through. It's still early days yet, I have no wish to rush her, and I'm willing to wait for as long as it takes to marry her if she'll have me, I'll just have to take one day at a time I suppose" Chris said.

Louisa and Phil soon returned. Phil was cold and covered with spaghetti stains. "I think we need to take our young man home" Louisa said. "Nice to catch up with you Chris, sorry about the orange juice in your lap."

"Sorry for spilling my drink on you Dochris" Phil said in a small voice.

"That's OK Phil, accidents happen. It's time for me to head off too".

"Did you walk or drive?" Louisa asked Chris.

"I walked as it's such a lovely night" he replied

"Would you like a lift home?" Louisa asked. "Now that you're covered in orange juice, you should probably get home to your washing machine and a warm shower as soon as possible."

"That's very nice of you" Chris said, "but I wouldn't want to impose."

"That's fine, we're going your way anyway" Martin said.

Chris accepted the ride home and then waved goodbye to Phil as Martin parked in their driveway across the street. Taking Phil inside, Louisa took him straight up to the bathroom for a quick bath then it was time for pyjamas, teeth brushing and bed.

As soon as he was asleep, Louisa headed downstairs to find Martin sitting in a contemplative mood on the sofa.

"What are you thinking about Martin?" Louisa asked.

"Believe it or not, while you and Phil were in the toilets this evening, my father and I had our very first father son conversation. He actually asked my advice on relationships. Hard to believe isn't it". Martin then filled Louisa in on all that Chris had said that evening.

"I think you gave him excellent advice Martin, when did you become so good at relationship counselling?" Louisa teased him.

"I've been in training since we were married" Martin said. "I have an excellent teacher".

"Really" Louisa replied. "What else have you learned from this teacher may I ask?"

"I'm more of an action speaks louder than words kind of student. If you'd like to follow me, I'll give you a full demonstration" Martin said as they walked upstairs.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT**

**Problems Shared**

Over the next few weeks everyone began to settle into their new routines. Elizabeth spent quite some time at Chris' and Chris spent a significant amount of time at Joan's house. Elizabeth regularly picked Phil up from pre-school and took him home to Joan, and then Phil would tell Joan all about his day. Joan's shoulder rapidly improved and now she was able to care for herself and Phil once again.

Elizabeth, knowing that she was no longer needed booked a ride back to Truro with Chris. Chris was sad that Elizabeth was no longer going to be staying at Joan's house, yet he anticipated being able to visit her regularly on his working days, with the added advantage of Joan not being present.

"Thank you once again Elizabeth for looking after me so well, and for so long" Joan said. "If I can ever return the favour just let me know won't you?"

"Don't worry Joan, you'll be the first one that I call if I ever need any help" Elizabeth said as she got into the passenger seat of Chris' little car. "See you soon" she said, waving from the window as Chris drove off.

When they finally arrived at Elizabeth's house, Chris got out and opened Elizabeth's door and taking her bag walked her inside, checking to make sure that all was as she'd left it, and that there had been no intruders in her absence.

Noticing that all was fine he said his goodbyes, promising to drop in after his morning's surgery for a bite of lunch before he headed back home to Portwenn.

While Chris was gone, Elizabeth did some washing and tidied up the house a bit then made some sandwiches for lunch. It was around 1:30pm when Chris finally arrived, tired but seemingly happy.

"How was surgery this morning?" Elizabeth asked.

"Really tricky actually, several major complications but Jeff, who was doing the operation managed to salvage the situation and save the man's life. His pregnant wife was very relieved as you can imagine. You have a very talented son Elizabeth, you can be very proud of him."

"I'm proud of both of you, it's a wonderful thing that you accomplished together this morning, I'm sure Jeff was very glad of your assistance" Elizabeth said as she gave him a hug.

Chris really appreciated these times when he could come straight from work and discuss his day with Elizabeth. Margaret had never been interested in surgery, and she was certainly unconcerned about whether a patient had lived or died or not. Chris shuddered when he thought back to all of the years he had spent living with her, with both of them bringing out the worst aspects in each other's characters.

"Thank you" Chris said as he sat down on the sofa, pulling Elizabeth down with him, "And thankyou for being there whenever I've needed a friend or someone to talk too. You are a very special woman Elizabeth, I hope you realise that" Chris said as he cuddled into her.

Elizabeth laughed softly.

"What's funny?" Chris asked bemused.

"Did you know that your new beard is very ticklish, but it does suit you. I forgot to mention earlier that it makes you look very distinguished, but it does take a bit of getting used to."

"So you don't think it looks funny then?"

"No, it looks good."

"It is slightly thinner on my scarred side." Chris said worriedly

"Yes maybe, but not much. You can barely notice the scarring on your face now, and as you seem to only wear long sleeves and trousers, the rest of your scarring is hardly noticeable."

Chris thought that it was probably time to bite the bullet and mention how hideous the rest of his skin was.

"The scarring on my face is significantly less than that on the rest of my body. I'm afraid the rest of me looks pretty gross". Chris said nervously.

"The thing I find about scars" Elizabeth said "is that although you may notice them initially, pretty soon people become accustomed to them and don't notice them anymore."

"I'd agree with you for minor scars" Chris said, "but my skin is a truly gruesome sight for one complete half of my body. In the car crash there was a lot of heat and I pretty much cooked on one side until I could be rescued, and then I was in hospital for months recuperating. Having no friends or close family at that time is what made me take a strong look at my life and realise that my priorities had been screwed up for as long as I could remember and to take my life into my hands to try to improve things with my family."

"Roll up the shirt sleeve of your burnt arm" Elizabeth said.

"Why?" Chris asked

"Just do it" Elizabeth said determinedly.

Chris undid the button at the bottom of his shirt sleeve and dutifully rolled it up to just above his elbow, showing just how mangled his skin was.

Elizabeth took his arm and looked at it closely, imagining the amount of pain that Chris must have suffered in order to receive such scarring. As she had expected, the scars didn't affect her in any negative way, and she tried to show this to Chris by gently kissing the scarred area on his arm.

"You must have suffered horrifically" she said. "I can see from your scarred arm that you've been through hell, but it doesn't nauseate me, or affect me in any negative way. I want you to leave that sleeve up for the rest of your visit, so you can get used to me seeing your scarred body. Next time you come, you can wear a t-shirt and I'll see more. Gradually you can desensitise yourself and me to your scars, and we can see where we wish to go from there. Do we have a deal?" Elizabeth asked

"Deal" Chris said in amazement, still unable to believe that she hadn't run off to be sick after seeing him. He didn't even like looking at his scarred body himself, and had thought that it would be unfair to subject anyone else to looking at it. Once again, he had underestimated this wonderful woman.

Driving home that afternoon with his sleeve still rolled up, Chris thought he could still feel her lips upon the damaged skin.

Finishing at work Louisa headed to Joan's house to pick up Phil. Phil was busy watching his favourite TV program when she got there so she joined Joan for a cup of tea while she was waiting.

"So how are things?" Joan asked Louisa, not coming right out and saying it, but wondering how 'operation grandchild' was going.

"Things have been quite busy and stressful as you know, and they're about to get even more hectic" Louisa said despondently.

"What do you mean?" Joan asked worriedly.

"Dad's due to get out on parole in two weeks time, so he's going to need somewhere to stay until he can find a job and get back on his feet. With me being his only child, he's going to need to come and stay with us. I'll have to clean out the spare bedroom and start getting it ready for him. He'll probably be with us for quite a while too, as it won't be easy for him to get a job" Louisa said.

Joan was dismayed, thinking that this further complication was going to put her plans for a new grandchild on the backburner, and she didn't want that at all. Thinking to herself that she had a spare room she said "I don't think either of you need any added complications to your life at the moment, I have a spare room here, Terry can board with me until he finds himself a job. He'll be receiving unemployment benefits so he can contribute some money towards food, and take the rest out in work around the house etc. Would that make it easier for you do you think? Joan asked.

"Would you really be happy to do that Joan?" Louisa asked. "I can't see Dad and Martin getting on at all, and it would take a load of stress out of our relationship if you'd be happy to do this. We'd also be happy to contribute something towards Dad's board, it would be worth it to save on stress for a start" Louisa said in obvious relief. "Just between you and me, we're still trying for another grandchild for you, but with everything that's been going on at the moment, we're obviously not having much success" Louisa said despondently.

"Don't you worry, I've known Terry for years, I'm sure we'll rub along OK together, and he'll no doubt enjoy interacting with Phil too after all he is his Grandfather" Joan said. "I'll tell you what, why don't I keep Phil here over night. If you want to bring over a bag with his pyjamas, teddy bear etc he can stay here with me for the evening, and you can have a nice dinner with Martin without interruptions and tell him of the new plans for Terry. A nice quiet evening together is just what the both of you need" Joan said.

Louisa, thinking that Joan could be right agreed, and was soon bringing over Phil's overnight bag with all of his things. Kissing Phil goodbye she headed back home and had a quick shower getting into the lingerie that Martin had bought her and the little cream coloured wraparound dress that Martin loved.

When Martin arrived home, it was to find Louisa putting a lovely meal on the table. As she bent over to put a glass by his place he got a brief glimpse of the bra that he had bought her in London.

"Where's Phil?" Martin asked, looking around before he took her in his arms.

"Spending the night at Joan's" Louisa said pulling his face down to hers for a kiss.

"Is this so we can make the most of our time together before Terry arrives to take up residence?" Martin asked.

"Not quite Martin, in fact you've been reprieved."

"How so?" Martin asked.

"Joan has said that Dad can stay with her. She feels that he can pay board and help her around the house. She's also worried that we don't need the added stress of another person in the house at the moment" Louisa said running her hands along Martin's back.

"Hmmm, that's nice of Aunty Joan" Martin said. "I must admit, I prefer having you to myself, and not having to share the house with Terry" he said, "but I would have done it, he is your father after all." Martin may not have liked Terry, or thought that he was a good father to Louisa, but in comparison to his own Father, Terry's parenting skills won hands down. Obviously Louisa loved him dearly, and if Louisa wanted her Dad to stay with them, then he would put up with it for her sake.

"So, not only has Joan agreed to have Dad live with her until he's back on his feet, but she's given us tonight to ourselves so we can work on operation grandchild for her" Louisa said with a smile.

"What, she didn't actually say that did she?" said a horrified Martin.

"No, but the implication was certainly there" Louisa said with a laugh. "Why? Don't you want to work on our project Martin?" Louisa asked coyly as she started undoing his jacket buttons.

"I never said anything about that" Martin replied pulling her sleeve down slightly so he could kiss her shoulder and then move to the sensitive part of her neck.

"Mmmmm" Louisa said. "You do realise if you keep doing that, you'll miss out on the meal I've just cooked. How about you hold that thought until we've eaten OK?" Louisa said with a smile.

"Hmmmm", said Martin whose mind wasn't on food at all now, but he realised that Louisa was right and that they really needed to eat. Eating his meal much faster than was considered to be healthy Martin was soon finished and Louisa wasn't far behind him. Leaving the dishes until the following day, Martin locked up the house and followed Louisa to their room.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER TWENTY NINE**

**Potential**

It seemed like hardly any time had passed at all before Louisa and Martin were pulling into Joan's driveway with Terry in the car with them, complete with some shopping bags containing some clothes that they had stopped off to buy for Terry while they were in town as they knew that the shopping facilities available for clothes in Portwenn were limited. Joan and Phil came out to meet them, ushering them inside to enjoy a nice meal that Joan had prepared earlier for the occasion. Sitting down at the table together, Louisa said to Phil "This is your Grandpa Phil. Grandpa has been away but has now come to stay with us for a while so that he can get to know you."

Phil looked questioningly at Terry and then said "Why are you my Grandpa? Are you married to Grandma?"

"No Phil, each child had two grandfathers. I am only one of yours; I am your Mummy's Daddy." Terry replied.

"Then who is my other grandfather?" Phil asked.

"Grandma's husband died Phil, he would have been your other grandfather" Martin said.

"Oh, O.K." Phil said, unconcerned with the situation now that his questions had been satisfied."

Finishing his meal, Phil went off to play, which gave Terry his opportunity to say what was on his mind.

"I'd just like to thank you all for your support" Terry said. "I know I've let you and the village down countless times before Louisa, but I really want to do better. I'm getting old now and the accommodation at Her Majesty's pleasure leaves a lot to be desired at the best of times, and even more so when you're getting old. My time inside wasn't wasted this time however, while I've been away I've discovered a new passion for cooking. Not only has this kept me out of trouble, but it's helped me to get my sentence shortened. Believe it or not, I've discovered that not only do I enjoy it, but I am very good at it too." Terry saw Louisa looking astonished, with all of the meals he had scraped together for her as a child, none of them could have been called gourmet.

"Don't worry Louisa, I was just as surprised as you" Terry said. "However I'm not joking. The prisoners were all sad to see me go as I was the best prison cook they'd had for a long time. I was even able to do some training in the area while I was inside and I've got various certificates and accreditations that will help me to get work in the food industry if I can find someone hiring" Terry said excitedly. "Also, if Joan would like it, I'm more than happy to take over a lot of the cooking duties, if not I'll be just as happy to help around the house wherever I can. I'm very grateful to finally get to meet my grandson and I'd dearly love to be able to make both him and my lovely daughter proud of me, not to mention you too Martin. I'll start looking for work as soon as I can, and hopefully there may even be something available in the village."

Finally finished with what he had to say, Terry looked around the table. Louisa had tears in her eyes while Joan and Martin had poker faces, no doubt still reserving judgement until he could prove himself.

"I'd also like to ask you all to keep and eye on me, and if I start to slip up, tell me to shape up or ship out".

Martin and Joan were more than ready to do this, and were prepared to watch Terry like a hawk to make sure that he didn't hurt Louisa again, or take advantage of anyone else either. Martin didn't really believe a word of Terry's spiel, but for Louisa's sake he said nothing, and thanks to his Aunty Joan, he didn't have to live with Terry either, so he could put up with him occasionally if he had to.

Not long after their meal, Louisa and Martin went home for a rest from the long drive to the prison and back while Phil stayed and played for a bit longer with Joan and Grandpa Terry."

"He seems determined to stay straight this time Martin, and his new skills in cooking sound hopeful too don't you think?" Louisa asked Martin pleadingly as if she wished to be convinced.

Martin didn't believe in lying to Louisa, yet he didn't want to hurt her feelings either, so just said "It will be good if he can keep his resolution, and if he can find work."

Snuggling under the covers they had a nice nap, waking up to Martin's alarm function on his phone a few hours later. Heading back next door to pick up Phil they were surprised to find the table had been set very carefully with Joan's best dinner set, flowers were in a vase in the centre of the table and soft music was playing in the background.

"Come on in" Joan said. "Terry's cooked us all a lovely meal, I hope you'll agree to join us, it smells wonderful" Joan said.

"Take your seat, dinner will be served in a few moments" Terry said as he headed back to his pots and pans in the kitchen, wearing one of Joan's aprons. It wasn't long before they had a delicious sweet potato, leek, potato, and capsicum soup in front of them, accompanied by recently warmed crusty bread rolls. For the main course Terry had put together a lovely beef stroganoff followed by a delicious apple pie with ice cream.

"I hope you enjoyed your meal" Terry said after they were up to their dessert course. "I was limited by available ingredients and the time left before dinner but I think we managed quite well despite that. Phil helped me to make the pastry for the apple pie too, didn't you Phil?"

"Yes, Grandpa and I cooked the apple pie Daddy. Do you like my pie?"

"It's very tasty Phil" Martin said looking at his excited son who had ice cream all over his face."

"The whole meal was delicious Dad, congratulations, your cooking skills have certainly come a long way since I was a child" Louisa said.

"Yes, nothing like the experience of being a kitchen hand for a large number of people to help you to find your way around the basics in a kitchen, and then the courses I was able to do helped me to progress, and there was one person who helped me particularly with my cooking, and taught me pretty much all that I know. He was a chef in real life and I will always be grateful to him, he's hoping to come and visit me next year when he is able." Terry said.

"He's not planning on staying here is he?" Louisa asked dubiously, and wondering what her Dad's friend was in gaol for originally.

"No, not at all but he would drop in for a few hours to say hello I'm sure" Terry said oblivious to Louisa's feelings on being visited by an ex-con.

When Phil had finished his ice-cream, Louisa and Martin felt it was time to take him home for a bath and bed so said their goodbyes, leaving Terry and Joan to get better acquainted.

"That was a lovely dinner Terry" Joan said. "I think Martin and Louisa really enjoyed it too. We'll have to increase the size of my vegetable patch if you're going to be doing a lot of cooking, as home grown organic vegetables definitely taste the best."

"That's a great idea; I'll give you a hand tomorrow afternoon. In the morning I plan to go job hunting. Are there any restaurants or café's looking for kitchen hands at the moment that you know of?"

Joan gave Terry a list of all of the possible eateries in Portwenn and he said he'd check them all out on the following morning. Joan was still doubtful as to Terry's intentions, but time would tell after all, and if he looked like he was hurting Louisa in any way, then she and Martin would take it upon themselves to sort him out.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

**Lucky Day**

The following morning Terry made Joan a delicious breakfast then headed off into the village to talk to the various café, snack bar and restaurant owners. After hours of canvassing, Terry had met with little success. The people of Portwenn had long memories and little inclination to forgive him for the whole theft of the lifeboat money incident. Terry was feeling very discouraged as he made his way to Bert and Al's restaurant to try his luck there, his last opportunity for kitchen work in Portwenn as far as he could see.

"So Bert" Terry said. "I'm now an experienced cook, and can provide you with various certificates from training sessions and courses that I've completed. I'm used to cooking for large numbers and I'm fast and efficient. I can also work under pressure. I'm happy to give you a day's free labour if you'll only give me a chance to prove myself" Terry pleaded.

"Listen Terry, I've got a full time cook at the moment and I can't afford anyone else and apart from that if anyone knew that I'd employed you, they'd give me a proper hard time they would. If it wasn't for Louisa, The Doc and Joan, I wouldn't even be talking to you now."

"Just think about it Bert, O.K.? That's all I'm asking" Terry said as he walked off despondently. When Terry got back to Joan's house she was sympathetic but not really surprised.

"What were you expecting Terry? You know what the villagers are like; surely you weren't expecting to walk straight into a job on your first day back here were you? You'd have to be pretty lucky for that to happen."

"I suppose you're right Joan, just because I've turned over a new leaf, I can't really expect them to believe it I suppose. It's just that I want to get a job and start paying my way as soon as possible, and preferably I'd like to work in the village if at all possible" Terry said.

"You'll just have to figure out a way to either show them how reliable you are now or find another way of earning some money from cooking. By the way don't forget there's no need to worry about cooking dinner this evening as Martin is taking all of us to dinner at Bert's as a belated birthday present for Louisa. He's been waiting for you to get home before booking us in, as Louisa specifically wanted to wait until you could join us."

"Thanks for the reminder Joan, it will be nice to have food cooked for me for a change after all of these years of cooking for everyone else" Terry said.

The weather was lovely that evening, and many people were enjoying a nice meal at Bert's restaurant. Chris and Elizabeth had made a booking for earlier that evening and were seated in a far corner where they could see the other diners, but were themselves in quite a bit of shadow. This was how they noticed Martin and his party arriving, yet were unnoticed by them.

"I want to sit by Grandpa Daddy; please can I sit next to Grandpa?"

The high pitched voice of Phil could be heard quite easily by most of the diners, followed by Martin's low pitched affirmative response. Elizabeth squeezed Chris' hand as he heard this, knowing that he must secretly yearn to be called Grandpa, yet was unlikely to ever achieve it. Chris squeezed her hand in response and continued eating his meal. He was content to watch his family from a distance, while enjoying the company of Elizabeth, who was beginning to mean more and more to him each day.

Eventually they were all seated. Phil seated between Terry and Joan with Martin and Louisa sitting opposite them. Ordering their meals, they sat back and enjoyed the lovely view and the balmy evening.

"I must say, the food on the menu is a nice selection" said Terry. "I hope the cook can do it justice".

"Bert's been really lucky with his latest cook, he's been with the restaurant for quite a while now, and is very good. Just as well really as it's a very busy night by the looks of things" Louisa said.

Suddenly there was a loud crash coming from the kitchen and a panicked Bert came out calling "Doc, Doc the cook's collapsed". Martin pulled out his chair and quickly raced into the kitchen, Chris hearing Bert's cry got up and followed Martin to the kitchen in case he could be of help.

"Bert, did you notice what happened before he collapsed?" Martin asked.

"He complained of pain in the centre of his chest, then he suddenly fell face down on the floor, luckily he missed the cooker and the knives."

Martin examined him, felt no pulse and could see no signs of circulation. Seeing Chris behind him shouted that he appeared to have suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest then said "Dad, can you start CPR? I'll race up to the surgery to get the defibrillator and call the ambulance on my way from my mobile" saying this Martin raced off while Chris began CPR.

"Poor Arthur, and he's such a good cook too" Bert said "How am I going to manage to get everyone their food now?" he said worriedly to himself. At least Al was here keeping everyone calm outside.

With Martin gone so long, Terry came into the kitchen to see what the status of the situation was so that he could either lend a hand or report back to Louisa. As he stepped in, he heard Bert talking to himself.

"Don't worry Bert, I'm familiar with all of the dishes on your menu, I can take over the cooking, just as soon as the ambulance arrives. I'll even work free tonight so you can test me out" Terry said. "You may want to go out into the restaurant and let everyone know that their meals are still on their way, but may be delayed slightly" Terry said as he started looking at the orders once he realised that Chris had everything under control with the patient.

Martin was back in very little time with the defibrillator, setting it up and applying the gel to Arthur's chest he asked Chris to stand clear as he administered the first shock. Arthur gasped and began to breathe again. Martin checked his pulse and nodded at Chris. Martin was just packing up his defibrillator when the ambulance arrived. Martin filled them in as they loaded him into the ambulance, and were soon on their way.

Turning to Chris, Martin said "Thanks Dad, I'm just off to recharge this, can you let Louisa know that I'll be back with them in 10 minutes?"

"No problems Martin" Chris said as Martin headed up the stairs on his way back to the surgery. Making his way out to Louisa's table he filled her in on what had been happening, also mentioning that Terry appears to have taken over the cooking for the rest of the evening and was looking quite at home in the kitchen when he left it. Having passed on his message he headed back to his table with Elizabeth and filled her in on what had just transpired.

"He's breathing again now, but appears to have suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Luckily both Martin and I were here this evening, or he would probably be dead by now, as he needed a defibrillator and when that's the case, time is of the essence. A lot of people can do CPR, but without that electric shock, he wouldn't have survived" Chris said.

"It was certainly his lucky night" Elizabeth said, "If you can call having a heart attack lucky that is."

"Well I imagine it was likely to happen at any time, so if it must, the best time is certainly near a Doctor's surgery with a Doctor handy I suppose" said Chris.

"Either way, I think you were both wonderful, it must be a great feeling to be able to save a person's life" Elizabeth said giving Chris a quick peck on the lips, and look here's our dessert. Chris smiled, happy to be with this woman, and happy that Martin had called him Dad without seeming to struggle to get the word out. Things were improving he thought.

Terry had certainly been busy, having had time to scope out the orders while Martin and Chris were working on Arthur, he'd mapped out his plan of attack while he was waiting and as soon as the kitchen was clear, he was hard at work, with the result that people's orders weren't delayed much at all.

As Bert delivered the various meals, he could hear positive comments about the food from the surrounding tables.

_So_, Bert mused to himself. _It looks like Terry might actually have been telling the truth about his new cooking skills, maybe he'd keep him on for a few nights until he heard from Arthur. If he told Terry to keep quiet about the fact that he was working here, then the villagers may not even find out for a while, and by the time they did, they may be willing to overlook his presence if his cooking was good enough. Yes, he'd have to think about ways of making it work, in the meantime the restaurant was full, he had a cook and the diners were happy. Surely he could make it all work after all, he was good at fixing things wasn't he? _

Martin, Louisa, Joan and Phil soon received their orders and once again were impressed with Terry's cooking skills.

"I hope this means that Terry can get work with Bert, even if just for a few days or weeks" Louisa said. "He seems to be doing a good job, and I imagine the regular cook will be out of action for a while."

"Yes, he won't be well enough to even consider working for quite some time yet" Martin said.

Martin and Louisa had to take Phil and Joan home soon after their meal, so Joan went in to the kitchen to tell Terry to call her if he wanted a lift home afterwards and she'd pick him up. Terry assured her that he was hoping to walk, but promised to call if he needed a lift.

When the last customer had left, Bert and Al came in and spoke to Terry.

"Thanks for stepping in this evening Terry, you did a proper job an' all" Bert said.

"Are you interested in casual work until Arthur returns?" Al asked.

"That would be great" Terry said. "I had a wonderful time cooking by myself this evening, and I was familiar with all of the dishes on the menu so I didn't have any problems."

Al named their terms and Terry accepted, then Bert took him aside and asked him not to mention his job to anyone as the villagers might not be too happy with him working at the restaurant and they could lose customers.

Terry disappointed but knowing that Bert was probably right agreed, and even said he'd wear a hat and dark glasses when entering the kitchen so that no-one would see him. Hopefully most of the diners this evening were either holidaymakers or people that either didn't know him or recognise him.

Having finally come to terms on what was expected on both sides, Terry began a nice leisurely walk back to Joan's house, a slight spring in his step and lightness in his heart. Things were looking up for him at last.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY ONE**

**Things are looking up.**

There was no gossip spreading through the village on the following morning about Terry Glasson being back, or about Terry Glasson cooking at Bert's restaurant, but the news of Arthur's heart attack and the two Docs saving him was well and truly out there. Some had even claimed to hear Doc Martin calling Chris "Dad", so one more secret had been outed by the village grapevine.

Apparently no one had recognized Terry. Bert had to admit that Terry did look different now that he was clean shaven with a number 1 haircut, it had also been dark when the problems occurred, so if his luck managed to hold they might be able to keep their little secret, and everyone would be happy and no one the wiser.

Terry kept to his side of the bargain by arriving that morning all covered up and trying to keep from being noticed as much as possible. Arriving nice and early he was ready to start preparing for the lunch rush, checking the restaurant fridge, freezer and store room, he gave Bert a list of the ingredients he was going to be needing for the next couple of days and then suggested some ideas for a special of the day.

Terry's forward planning and preparation paid off as the lunch rush went smoothly, with many customers so impressed with the food and the speed that it arrived that they booked tables for the evening meal also. Bert started receiving lots of compliments to be sent to the chef, making both his and Terry's day.

Terry was in his element, he had a kitchen to himself, he was the boss of the whole kitchen and his special of the day had been so popular that they had to stop promoting it as they'd run out of ingredients. To top it all off Bert had rung Arthur, and Arthur had told him that he wasn't going to be coming back as he was going to move in with his daughter in Northumberland. Bert offered Terry a job on the spot providing he managed to keep his identity a secret. Terry had agreed and was already working on ways to increase customer turnover, profit and market the restaurant. Bert was oblivious to this and was just glad to have found a replacement for Arthur so quickly and easily even if it was Terry Glasson, he'd just need to keep an eye on the money that's all.

That same morning Martin and Louisa woke up late and had to rush to get Phil ready and themselves off to work. Once at work they were both bombarded with questions asking "Is Chris Martin's Father? Why they hadn't mentioned it earlier? They hadn't known that they had another Doc in the village, and what sort of Doc was he?"

By the end of the day the Villagers were having a field day with the news that the Doc's father was living opposite Martin and Louisa, and that he was a surgeon too, and who would have guessed that 'Chris, the strange but pleasant guy who was often seen in the village' was the Doc's Dad. Variations of the story were all over Portwenn by the end of the day, even Chris got to hear some of the gossip when Dave the postman dropped off his mail. Chris hoped that Martin wouldn't be mad about the situation, but he took heart in that it was Martin who had called him "Dad" in front of other people, so maybe Martin was beginning to accept him again.

Louisa wondered the same thing, and when she and Martin were in bed that evening she broached the subject.

"Martin, I take it that you realise the whole village now appears to know that Chris is your biological father?"

"Yes, multiple patients have asked me about him all day" he replied with a sigh.

"Does it bother you? I thought you wanted to keep it a secret?" Louisa asked him.

"It would have bothered me originally, but I find that I don't really care now one way or the other. He's obviously trying to change and if people find out he's my father, it's not really anything to me."

"That's good to hear Martin, but what are you going to say when Phil hears this, as he's bound to hear something about it at pre-school?" Louisa asked.

"I hadn't thought of that" Martin said. "Maybe we need to have a talk to him and mention that Dochris is my father. No need to mention that he is also his grandfather, after all we've already covered that with him, and he won't even think about it if we're lucky" Martin said.

"OK, I'll leave it to you to tell him shall I? Or did you want me to tell him?" Louisa asked.

"No that's fine, I'll do it tomorrow morning at breakfast" Martin said cuddling her. "In the meantime, I'm sure we can find something better to do than to lie here talking about my father, after all we're supposed to be working on conceiving a child or we'll have Aunty Joan complaining" Martin said as he began to kiss the sensitive area at the base of Louisa's neck.

"Mmm, we better not upset Joan, she's our babysitter after all, and she is hanging out for another grandchild" Louisa managed to get out before she totally lost all train of thought. Some time later, laying spent in each other's arms they both suddenly froze as their bedroom door creaked open and a little pyjama clad figure came into their room.

"I had a nightmare Mummy, I dreamed I was in a gorilla cage, and the gorilla's kept making gorilla noises and there were monkeys making noises too. Then I was driving a rubbish truck and a monster came out and ate me, but I escaped through a hole in his big toe. He started to chase me but then I woke up."

Pulling the covers up under her chin, Louisa said "That's very scary Phil, how about you pop back into bed and Daddy will come in and tuck you up".

"Can't I get into bed with you?" Phil asked hopefully.

"There's not enough room Phil." Wondering how she was going to get her son out of their room and back into his so that they could re-dress before going in to him Louisa said, "I'll tell you what though. If you go back into your room Daddy will come in and read you a story in a few minutes. I wonder how quickly you can get back there? Are you ready? I'm going to time you... one, two three... Phil raced back to his room while Martin sprang out of bed and raced with his pyjamas to the bathroom. Quickly getting changed in there, in case Phil returned, he then headed off to Phil's room.

When Louisa could hear Martin telling Phil a story, she quickly re-dressed herself and was finally able to relax again. They really needed to get a bolt for their door, it was going on the top of her shopping list for the weekend she decided before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Around the breakfast table the following morning, Martin attempted to bring about a conversation regarding Chris with Phil.

"Did you have fun playing with Grandpa at Grandma's house the other day Phil?"

"Yes, Grandpa and I had fun with my train set, and then we did some cooking" Phil said.

That's good. It's fun to play with trains and to cook. "Mummy liked playing with Grandpa when she was little too, because Grandpa is Mummy's Daddy" Martin said.

"Mummy doesn't have a Daddy, she's a grown up." Phil said.

"Mummy still has a Daddy. Grandpa will always be Mummy's Daddy just like Dochris is my Daddy" Martin explained.

"Wow, I didn't know that Dochris was your Daddy" Phil exclaimed. "I thought you were too old to have a Daddy" he said seriously.

"No, I'm not too old to have a Daddy" said Martin "And even when you're old like me I'll still be your Daddy. Isn't that interesting?" Martin asked.

"Wow" Phil said. "Who is your Mummy then?"

"Grandma had the job of being my Mummy" Martin said.

"That's funny Daddy, being a Mummy isn't a job" Phil said

"What is it then, if it's not a very, very important job?" Martin asked.

"It's a _privlij, _that's what Grandma says" said Phil. "What's a _privlij_ Daddy?"

"A privilege means a very special honour or that you are very, very lucky to be able to do a particular thing. So you see being a Mummy is a very, very special job" Martin explained.

"Mummy? Did you know that being a Mummy is a very important job?" Phil asked Louisa.

"Yes, I did know that being a Mummy is a very important job, it's the most important job in the whole wide world, along with being a Daddy" Louisa said with a smile.

"I hope I can be a Daddy when I get older" Phil said, looking at the position from a whole new perspective.

"I hope you get to be a Daddy too. Then Daddy and I will be grandparents" Louisa said. "Now Mister you need to go to the toilet and clean your teeth then I am dropping you off at Grandma's OK?"

"Yes Mummy" said Phil racing off to get ready to go to Joan's house.

"I think that went OK Martin, don't you?" Louisa asked.

"I think so, he didn't ask too many detailed questions which was good. At least now if he hears anything in the village, he'll know" Martin said pulling Louisa to him for a brief kiss and cuddle before Phil could get back.

When Phil returned, Louisa walked him next door to Joan then she and Martin headed off to work.

Joan had enjoyed a few hours to herself that morning while Phil was at Pre-School and was now waiting outside the Pre-School class room with the other parents and grandparents to pick up Phil. Mrs Burton performed her regular ritual of poking her head out of the classroom door to see which parents and grandparents were there and who was still to arrive. Seeing Joan waiting, Phil was allowed to leave the classroom and to collect his backpack from the bag hooks, followed by the majority of the rest of his class. Handing Joan his drink bottle and his drawings that he'd done that day, he put on his backpack and then took Joan's hand.

"I'm hungry Grandma, Andrew ate the last piece of banana at fruit time and there was only apples and pears left. Do you have anything for me to eat with you?"

Phil was frequently hungry after getting out of Pre-School so Joan had taken to bringing a muesli bar with her whenever she was picking Phil up.

"How about a muesli bar Phil? Will that keep you going until we get home?" Joan asked.

"Yes please Grandma" Phil said as he took the proffered treat and unwrapped it, taking a large bite as he did so. Holding hands they then started to walk home. They had just left the school grounds when Phil shouted "Dochris, Dochris, over here, we're behind you." Chris had just returned from a trip to the chemist's and was now walking back home. Hearing Phil call him, he turned around and waved.

"Hi Joan, hello Phil. Have you just finished school for today?"

"Yes, I've been at pre-school, look at this Dochris". Phil took off his backpack and rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. Putting his backpack back on his back he handed the piece of paper to Chris.

"I drew this for you at pre-school today, Mrs Burton asked us to draw a picture of our family, and Daddy said that you were his Daddy, so I drew a picture of Mummy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, me and you. I also drew one for Grandpa, except his is on green paper" Phil explained.

With slightly moist eyes, and a smile on his face Chris knelt down on the pavement and examined the picture in great detail.

"Thank you Phil this is the best present I've ever had, and I'll be very careful to look after it. It's a lovely picture and I think I'll frame it and put it on my wall. Thank you very much for drawing it for me."

"You're welcome Dochris, I like drawing. I can draw you other pictures too if you want" Phil said.

"That would be lovely" Chris said as he gave Phil a quick hug. Standing up slowly he finished the walk with them, and had the pleasure of Phil telling both he and Joan all about his busy day at school.

That night Chris took an expensive watercolour out of it's frame and put Phil's drawing in it's place, taking it with him and putting it on his bedside table so that it was the last thing he would look at every evening and the first thing he would see every day. With all of the possessions he had owned throughout his life, nothing had ever been more precious to him than this simple gift from his only grandchild.

Unable to contain his joy at the gift, he rang Elizabeth to tell her of his day, and the drawing that he had received. Elizabeth smiled at the excitement in his voice and rejoiced with him in the fact that Martin had actually told Phil that Chris was his father.

"He certainly seems to be softening towards you Chris" Elizabeth said. "For him to have told Phil that you were his Father, has to mean that he doesn't dislike you. Even if he's still not ready to like or love you it is a positive step, and at least you are now having the occasional bit of contact with your Grandson. Just keep on taking it slowly like you are, and things may yet work out for you" Elizabeth counselled.

"Yes, I think you're right. Taking things slowly and letting Martin set the pace certainly seems to be working so far. You can be sure that I won't intentionally do anything to upset what I've achieved so far, that's for certain" Chris said. "So are you still set for our lunch tomorrow?" Chris asked. "I've found a lovely restaurant that I'd like to take you to."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it" Elizabeth replied as they discussed the details. Finally Chris said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. Smiling to himself he prepared for bed and was soon fast asleep, a smile still on his face.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY TWO**

**Relationships**

That Saturday after finishing his surgery, Martin picked up a small bolt for their bedroom door at the local hardware shop. Phil was at Joan's and Terry's for the afternoon so after eating his lunch he went next door to ask Joan if he could borrow her drill for half an hour.

"Yes, no problems Marty, it's in my garden shed. What do you need it for?"

"Ah, mmm nothing much Aunty Joan, just a small repair job" Martin stuttered as he hurried outside to get Joan's drill. Not having a lot of spare time himself to do work around the home, Martin always preferred just to pay a contractor whenever he wanted to get something done, however he could just imagine the gossip through the village if he paid someone to put a bolt on their bedroom door. Shuddering at the thought he soon spotted Joan's drill and picking it up he headed next door to find the best location to put the bolt.

"Are you sure you know how to use a drill Martin?" Louisa asked him doubtfully.

"I've drilled into a person's skull while standing on a cliff face, I should be able to drill a small hole into some wood without too much trouble" Martin said defensively.

Measuring precisely where he wanted everything to go, Martin tightened the drill bit with the chuck key and started to drill the hole. Soon there was the sound of splintering wood as part of the door frame came away. _Apparently it's easier to perform brain surgery with a drill than to make a hole in wood, who would have guessed?_ thought Martin to himself.

Before he could do any more damage, Louisa said. "Here Martin, let me have a go. Dad was quite good at woodwork and taught me a few things when I was little. " She took the drill from him, and then made short work of the job. Noticing that Martin was looking decidedly put out, Louisa said "Look Martin, I couldn't have drilled into a skull to save a life, and I think that's the more important scenario here don't you? I also had a father to teach me these things when I was small and you didn't, so don't feel bad hmmn, anyway we now need to patch up this door frame before Phil sees it. How about you take the drill back to Joan, and I'll pop down to the hardware shop and see what they recommend, I'll get some more paint while I'm there so we can paint over it too."

Martin headed back to Joan's house and put the drill back in the shed then escaped before Terry and Joan could ask him any questions. He found himself coughing a bit as he walked back and he noticed that he had a slight tickle to his throat. Great he thought to himself, _I hope I'm not coming down with a cold. _In the meantime, Terry was curious about what could be going on but could see that Martin didn't want to talk, so he slipped into his bedroom and rang Louisa on her mobile phone to see what was up, and if he could help.

"Hi Dad, nothing major we just needed to install a small bolt onto a door, it's all done now. While I've got you here, what products could a person use to repair some splintered wood on a door frame?"

"You could use wood putty if the damaged area isn't too big. Once you've applied it, you need to let it dry then you can sand and paint it. Where's the damage, do you need any help with it?"

"We've put a bolt on our bedroom door, Phil tends to wake up a lot late at night, and not always at convenient times" Louisa said.

Terry turned slightly pale thinking _I didn't need to hear that, I didn't need to hear that._ Like most fathers, Terry didn't like to think of his daughter as being all grown up. "Well if you need any help, just let me know" Terry said hoping against all hopes that they wouldn't, he had no desire to see where his daughter and son-in-law slept together.

"We should be fine Dad, thanks for the offer anyway" Louisa said as she hung up. She was soon back with the wood putty, and between the two of them they managed to finish off the job very satisfactorily. Martin's skill at plastering legs and arms had paid off when it came to the putty, and they ended up with quite a professional finish. Fortunately his skill with the putty helped to soothe his pride somewhat after his attempts with the drill.

Tidying up, they went next door to collect Phil. Terry raised his eyebrows slightly at Louisa who gave him a small nod in return as they thanked Joan for babysitting and collected their son, heading home for their meal and Phil's bath time.

"OK Terry, I saw that look between you and Louisa, "What's going on" Joan asked. "What have those two been doing with my drill?"

"Well if you must know, I rang Louisa and apparently they've been putting a bolt on their bedroom door, you can guess why" Terry said with a bit of a shudder still not wanting his thoughts to go there.

"Oh, well that's a good idea" Joan said, thinking that this might help "_Project Grandchild_" along the way a bit too. "They should have told me, I could have put the bolt in for them" she said.

"I'm guessing they may have been a bit embarrassed" Terry said.

"Probably" said Joan. "Martin can be very straight laced" Anyway, isn't it time for you to head off to Bert's?"

"Yes. I did most of the preparation earlier on this afternoon so I could start a bit later this evening, but you're right. It's time for me to go." Saying this Terry put his hat on, pulled it low over his eyes and borrowed Joan's car with her permission to head off to work.

Joan had offered Terry the use of her car in the evenings providing she didn't need it. In exchange Terry cooked most of their meals and payed a slightly higher board. Joan found that she was actually enjoying having Terry to stay with her. He wasn't there a lot but was available for a bit of company at various times during the day and he was also always happy to play with Phil. The extra money coming in from his weekly board payments were helping her out financially too.

Bert and Al were very pleased with the work that Terry had been doing, and with Terry's permission had started a rumour about a mystery cook. The villagers were now all dying to find out who the new cook was and business was booming as a result.

Terry thinking it was a bit of fun had decided to start wearing a black silk mask when he was at the restaurant to add a touch of mystery. He'd also started selling his own home made biscuits as a side line, calling them _'Mystery Cook Cookies.'_ They'd been very popular with the diners and were making him a bit of extra pocket money after paying Bert a small portion from each sale for allowing him to sell them from the restaurant. There was also a betting pool going on in the village as to the identity of the cook, but fortunately Terry was unaware of this, or the temptation to participate may have been too great.

Later that night Martin started to feel decidedly unwell so went to bed early, while Louisa put Phil to bed and tidied up downstairs. Finally going up to bed herself Louisa found Martin collapsed on the floor, and burning up with a high fever. Frantically she called Joan's number asking her to call Chris and for them both to come over and help her to get Martin back in bed as he was seriously ill.

While waiting on Joan and Chris, Louisa put a pillow under Martin's head then got a wet cloth to place on his burning forehead, trying to get his raging temperature down. It wasn't long before she heard Joan opening the front door and two sets of footsteps were hurrying up the stairs. By the time that Joan and Chris had arrived, Martin was awake and reasonably lucid.

"Why am I on the floor?" he asked, coughing harshly as he looked around at all of the anxious faces staring at him.

"I think you must have collapsed on the way to or from the bathroom Martin" Louisa replied. "I came into our room and just found you on the floor like this. Do you think you can get back in bed if we all help? You're so big that you're going to need to help us Martin, otherwise we'll have to just roll you onto a mattress."

"If you can help me to get up, I think I can just manage it" Martin said wincing at the effort it took for him just to speak.

"OK then, Chris if you get on Martin's other side, I'll stay on this side and Joan if you can be ready to catch Martin if he falls forward we should be able to manage this. OK now, on the count of 3. One, two, three... Louisa called out. Martin tried to pull himself up while Louisa and Chris supported him and Joan gave him some added support as he managed to manoeuvre himself onto the bed.

With everyone's assistance Martin was soon tucked back up in bed, exhausted from the effort it had taken for him to get there. While he was still able to think, albeit with difficulty Martin said "I seem to have come down with a virus, I'd say a virulent form of influenza. The best ting is plenty of fluids, rest and paracetamol to help with the fever. There's some paracetamol in my medical bag, this should help with the fever if you wouldn't mind getting me some Louisa" Martin's voice was very croaky by now and Louisa had a hard time catching all that he was saying.

"I'll get it" Chris said, seeing Martin's bag sitting against one of the bedroom walls. Locating the tablets he pulled out two and handed them to Martin along with the glass of water he had by his bed.

Louisa supported his head while he swallowed the tablets with the water and then collapsed back onto his pillow. Soon he was sleeping fitfully, breathing through his mouth as his nose was congested.

"I'll go next door and squeeze some lemons for hot lemon juice for Martin, and then in the morning I'll come over early and take Phil for you so that you won't have to worry about him Louisa" Joan said.

"Thanks Joan that will be a big help" Louisa said.

"If you'd like Louisa" Chris said "I'd be happy to sleep downstairs on the sofa so that I can be available to help Martin with trips to the toilet etc, as he may need both of us to help him to get there" Chris said.

"That would be a big help Chris, thanks, but you can sleep on the bed in the spare room next door to this one as it's already made up and it's closer" Louisa offered. "It will also be handy if Phil wakes up in the middle of the night" she said.

"No problems, I'll see to Phil if he wakes up, and I can look after him until Joan gets here in the morning if he wakens early" Chris said.

"Thanks Chris that would be a big help" Louisa said in relief. She'd never had to nurse a very sick person before so having Chris, a doctor next door gave her a boost of confidence that she really needed. She also realised that in the past she would have had no one to turn to in trouble, and it made her appreciate having Joan, Chris and Terry around even more.

Joan left shortly after, returning with some lemon juice and then heading back to her house after assuring Louisa that she was only next door, and was available at the end of the phone if she needed her at any time of the night.

Chris went to his room leaving the door open so that he would hear if he was called. He was determined to be available to help with nursing Martin if needed.

Louisa eventually climbed into bed, listening to Martin's breathing, periodically placing cool cloths on his burning forehead as he slept.

Louisa was dozing fitfully when she was woken by Martin calling out, obviously suffering from a nightmare "No Daddy, no Daddy, please don't hit me, I'll be good"

Chris came racing in. "I heard voices, is everything OK?" he asked.

"He seems to be having a nightmare" Louisa said. Once again Martin started to speak in his dream. "No, please don't lock me in the cupboard Mummy, I'll be good" Martin mumbled. "Please Daddy, don't hit me, it was an accident" Martin continued almost incoherently.

"Shh Martin, It's OK, I'm here my love, you're safe with me, you're safe here" Louisa said to him as she kissed him on his hot forehead.

"Louisa, my beautiful Louisa, so beautiful, so lovely" Martin murmured, still asleep.

"He seems to be dreaming Chris, Louisa said. He's still very hot, but he's due for some more paracetamol now. If you'd like to help me to get him to drink it that would be good" Louisa said looking at Chris and only just noticing now that he had tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry Louisa, I'm so ashamed. I didn't deserve to have a child; I'm appalled at the life my son had to live. If it wasn't for Joan in his life, I dread to think of how things would have been for him."

"No, no Mummy please don't send me back to that school. Please don't hit me Daddy, I'm sorry" Martin continued.

Chris approached Martin and taking his hot hand said "I'm sorry son, no I won't hit you. You've been a good boy, and I'm very proud of you. You don't ever have to go back to that school again." Chris' words seemed to help as Martin stopped tossing and turning in his sleep and the pleas for help stopped, soon to be followed by "Louisa, my lovely Louisa, so beautiful, I love you Louisa" Louisa kissed Martin on his forehead once more and then both she and Chris helped Martin to drink his paracetamol.

"Wake up Martin, drink this it will help you to feel better" Louisa said as Martin, semi-awake docilely took the water and tablets then fell back asleep almost immediately. Chris then went back to his room, and Louisa got back in bed with Martin.

Some time later Martin woke complaining of feeling chilled. Louisa turned on the electric blanket for him and added some more blankets then cuddled up to him to give him some of her body warmth. Martin turned into her trying to get extra heat from her body. After a while Martin complained of feeling too hot and Louisa turned off his electric blanket and removed some of their blankets. "While you're awake Martin, drink some more water, you said that you needed to keep your fluids up" Louisa reminded him. Martin drank the rest of the glass of water by his bedside table then said he needed to go to the toilet and that his head was pounding. Bending over double to relieve the pain, he staggered off to the bathroom.

"Do you need any help Martin?" Louisa asked from the doorway, "No I can manage" Martin said in a croaky voice. "OK, but call me if you change your mind" Louisa said as she hovered nearby waiting to see if she was going to be needed. Martin was a very private man, and preferred to keep some things a mystery in their marriage and Louisa feeling very much the same way always respected this, but on this particular occasion she felt that privacy might be just a touch overrated if it meant risking falling flat on your face in pain in the middle of the bathroom. Fortunately Martin managed and was soon making his way slowly back to the bed. Louisa quickly filled his glass for him again in case he was thirsty later on and helped him back into bed. This time Martin seemed unable to sleep thanks to aches and pains all through his body. Louisa ran her fingers gently through his hair as she knew he found this soothing and this occasion was no different as he eventually fell back to sleep and Louisa quickly followed.

The next morning Phil woke up early, Chris listening for him met him in the hallway and said that Daddy wasn't feeling well and that Mummy and Daddy needed to sleep and that they could both go downstairs and play for a while until Grandma arrived.

Phil thinking it was great to have someone new to play with took Dochris by the hand and led him to his toys. When Joan arrived not long after she found Phil and Chris wearing super hero capes jumping blocks in a single bound as they 'flew' around the living room.

"Do either of you super heroes want some breakfast?" Joan asked. Terry was with her too, as Joan had filled him in about Martin when he arrived home from work. Terry had made a lovely breakfast next door and brought it over to save worrying about dirtying Martin and Louisa's kitchen.

Soon everyone was seated around the table enjoying a lovely cooked breakfast. "I'm just going to pop upstairs to see if I can help with anything?" Terry said as he slipped upstairs. Finding Louisa's room was easy as the door was wide open, he wasn't quite prepared however to see Martin and Louisa holding each other tightly in their sleep, as if they were afraid they would be separated. It didn't look particularly comfortable, but it did assure him that Louisa loved Martin and hadn't just settled for the nearest available man as she was afraid she was getting old. He'd occasionally wondered about this, especially after meeting Martin for the first time and being unimpressed with him.

Heading back downstairs he joined the others at the breakfast table and joined in the conversation. "So Chris you had better stay here and help Louisa as you're the Doctor and a male. Martin's not going to want me to help with getting changed etc. Terry probably best if you and I play with Phil today, and pop over with food for Louisa and Martin when needed."

"Dochris will fix Daddy, won't you Dochris?" Phil said.

"I'll do my best, Phil don't you worry about that" Chris replied.

After breakfast Joan, Terry and Phil headed off next door and Chris went back upstairs to see if he could help in any way.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY THREE**

**On the improve**

When Chris heard Louisa moving around in her and Martin's bedroom he popped his head through the open doorway and let her know that Phil was next door with Joan and breakfast was downstairs waiting for her and Martin too if he was up to eating anything.

Louisa thanked him and asked if he'd keep an ear open for Martin while she had her shower.

"Yes, no problems. I'd be happy to" Chris replied.

"Thanks Chris. I won't be long" Louisa said as she gathered some clothes and headed for the ensuite bathroom.

While she was in the shower Chris sat on a chair near Martin's bed and thought over all that had happened over the last few hours. He was still sitting quietly, contemplating recent events when Martin began to stir.

"Louisa?" he croaked.

"She's just having a shower Martin, she won't be long" Chris said. "Do you need anything?"

"Paracetamol and water please" Martin asked, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight that was filtering into the room through the cracks between the curtains. Chris took some of the tablets from the bottle by the bed and then supported Martin's head as he swallowed them.

"Thanks" Martin said, flopping back onto the pillows.

Louisa by this stage had finished her shower and had come back into the bedroom to see Martin taking his tablets, and then lying back on his pillow.

"Martin, I'm going to ring and organise a locum for you. I think you're going to be out of action for at least a week wouldn't you say?"

"See if you can arrange for a week, with the possibility of it being longer if I don't recover as well as planned" Martin said coughing as he spoke.

"OK" Louisa said as she headed downstairs to use the phone in Martin's study, where he kept his diary and address book.

Coming back some time later she said "A locum has been organised and will be there early Monday morning. I've made a few phone calls for myself too. I'm taking carer's leave for a few days, I know Joan's home but she'll have Phil to look after, and we don't want to risk her catching this horrible virus at her age, you either Chris."

"I don't think any of us particularly want it, that's for sure" Chris said "but I think if we're careful we can minimise the risk, plus I think Martin has probably been overdoing it a bit lately trying to visit all of the sick villagers at their homes so he has been not only over tired, but continuously exposed to the virus unlike the rest of us. I've had my flu shot so hopefully that will give me some protection. No doubt Martin has too, you can just imagine how bad things would have been for him if he hadn't, judging by his symptoms at the moment."

"Yes he had a flu shot a while ago, and as you say, I dread to think how badly he would have been hit if he'd not had one" Louisa replied.

"When you have both finished talking about me as if I wasn't here, could you please leave me some space so that I can get up make my way to the lavatory?" Martin said grumpily.

Louisa and Chris quickly moved aside and Martin, clutching his head rolled slowly out of bed and stood shakily on his feet. Bent over double he made his way to the bathroom. Standing around like mother hens, Chris and Louisa waited anxiously to see if Martin needed any assistance.

A few minutes later Martin emerged from the bathroom and stumbled back towards the bed. Chris then suggested that Louisa go downstairs and have some breakfast while he stayed and kept and eye on Martin.

"Thanks Chris, I'll do that. I'm absolutely starving, and could do with a good cup of coffee to wake me up too. I won't be too long, and you know where I am if you need me. If you want anything brought up Martin just let me know." Saying this Louisa headed downstairs while Chris grabbed a book from a nearby bookcase and began reading while Martin slept fitfully. This pattern pretty much existed for most of the day, with either Chris or Louisa upstairs listening out for Martin, or on occasions both of them. Although Chris could not have wished this illness on Martin, he relished the opportunity to feel a part of the family, and to get to know his daughter in law a bit better. Louisa also thought it was a good opportunity to find out a bit more about Chris, and to make a more informed judgement on his change of heart regarding his family.

Looking at down at her sleeping husband, and at her father in law she could see some likeness there in the blue eyes, and the height, but as far as she was concerned that was where the family likeness finished.

"Thanks for your help while Martin has been sick Chris, its made things a lot easier for me that's for sure" Louisa said.

"That's no problem Louisa, I'm glad I could help. I'm ashamed to say it, but this is the first time I've ever been around to help out when someone's sick, including Martin and Margaret. In the past I ran for miles, too busy socialising or working to pay much attention to anyone else's needs. There really wasn't much that I wouldn't do to shirk my family responsibilities. My selfishness knew no bounds and as was to be expected I eventually reaped what I had sown. When I was sick in hospital not a single soul in the whole world cared. I'm telling you now that there couldn't be too many worse feelings in the world than knowing that no one at all could care less about you. Unfortunately my change of perspective came so late in life, I wish it had happened earlier and then maybe I could have been a decent father to Martin, and a better husband to Margaret. Although in all fairness Margaret was a female version of me, she was really only ever interested in her own self. Looking back, I doubt that she ever loved me she was only interested in what I could do for her. Not a good foundation to build a marriage on I know, but there you are we married, Margaret fell pregnant and we were both so self absorbed that poor Martin was the one who really suffered. The sad thing is that Joan would have been the perfect Mother for him yet couldn't have children, and I was able to impregnate his mother, yet neither of us should ever have been parents. One of life's sad ironies I suppose."

"You missed out on the best years of your life Chris. Parenthood is the biggest joy and privilege in the world, and you squandered your only opportunity and I think that is so sad. Martin is such an extraordinary man, every day I learn more about him and I'm just so impressed with what he has done with his life considering his upbringing. If you're lucky one day he may let you get to know the real him a bit better, but I think it will be a long time yet. If you're really determined to get to know him more you need to be prepared for it to take time, and if you're not prepared to do that and you're going to just get up and go one day, I'd suggest you make it sooner rather than later as I won't let you hurt him again. He's been through enough at your hands don't you think?" Louisa said in a low but determined voice.

"I have no intention of leaving Louisa, and the last thing I want to do is hurt Martin in any way. As you say he's been through enough at my hands. I can't guarantee that he won't get hurt unintentionally, although I can't foresee how at this moment in time, but there is always a possibility. I can however guarantee that I won't do anything intentionally to cause him any pain." Chris said earnestly.

"Just as long as we're straight on that point" Louisa said "then we'll be fine".

"We're straight" Chris said. "Now tell me, does he have those horrible nightmares often?"

"No, he hasn't had any for years I'd say they were a product of the virus"

"That's good; I'd hate to think that he's suffering from regular nightmares, having had a lot myself recently I know how draining they can be."

"Hmmm" Louisa agreed. "So Chris, you and Elizabeth seem to be getting on really well. Are things still on track there?" Louisa asked teasingly.

Blushing, Chris said "We're taking things slowly. She's a wonderful woman and I'd like nothing more than to marry her but I'm not in a financial position to look at marriage at the moment, and I'm hardly a great catch. Apart from having to start all over again money wise, I'm heavily scarred and hardly the most attractive sight to consider living with day in and day out. What's more my past history of relationship skills leaves a lot to be desired. I'm so appreciative of her friendship I don't want to ruin what we do have by trying for more" Chris said with a slightly despondent tone to his voice.

"Have you discussed any of this with Elizabeth, or are you making all of these decisions on your own?" Louisa asked in a tight voice.

"I've mentioned my scarring to Elizabeth, and admittedly she didn't seem fazed by it, but how could I ask for anything more from her when there are so many better prospects for her out there?" Chris said gloomily.

"So in other words, you're making all of the decisions and leaving Elizabeth in the dark. With misplaced altruism like that neither of you are ever going to know what's going on. You owe Elizabeth a say in the decision making. Don't even think of making these decisions for her, she deserves to be consulted. How can you say that someone else will be better for her, she's the only person who knows that. I'm telling you now that you need to speak to her about all of these things soon, or you'll risk losing her anyway, either that or Elizabeth is likely to confront you first."

"OK, I promise to speak to her. Martin said the same thing to me, so having heard it now from both of you; I suppose I should take note shouldn't I?" Chris said.

"Yes you should" said Louisa, surprised to hear that Martin and his father had even discussed the issue.

"Now I need to pop next door to check on Phil for a while, can you keep an eye on Martin while I'm gone?" Louisa asked.

"Sure no problems" Chris replied as Louisa left the room. A few minutes later, sitting there with his thoughts he was surprised when Martin suddenly spoke.

"I told you to speak to Elizabeth" Martin opened his eyes and spoke to Chris, coughing at the effort.

"I thought you were asleep?" Chris said warily.

"There were some people nearby that kept talking, and it woke me up" Martin said grumpily.

"Oh sorry we thought you were totally out of it, how much did you hear?" Chris asked.

"Enough" Martin said, refusing to elaborate any further. "So are you going to speak to Elizabeth or not?"

"Yes, I get the hint. I promise I'll speak to her when I see her next OK?"

"Just make sure you do, as I can guarantee you that Louisa won't rest now until you have. Now I need to go to the lavatory"

"You look as if you're feeling a bit better; your fever has certainly gone down. You were burning up all last night" Chris said.

"Yes, I'm feeling significantly better today compared to last night, but I still feel as if every muscle and bone in my body belongs to a ninety year old, and my head still aches and I feel like I've swallowed a bag of dust and razor blades. Other than that I feel just fine" said Martin sarcastically.

"At least there will be a locum available tomorrow, do you want us to organise a home visit for you from them, then you can fill them in on anything you want them to know too?"

"Yes that would be good, if you contact Pauline and get her to slot the visit in on Monday that would be a help. Louisa has her number if you don't."

"No problems, I'll organise it with Louisa before I go this evening. I'm presuming that with Phil staying next door with Joan, that you and Louisa will be OK on your own from tonight. I'm happy to stay on if you think I'll be needed, but I'm also happy to head back home if you want to be alone".

"I don't think we'll need you from tonight, but best check with Louisa, she's the one most affected after all. I'm just the person that's sleeping all day. She appears to have gathered some strength and confidence from your presence so she may want the added security of you being here tonight. Best check with her, and thanks for coming to help out" Martin said begrudgingly.

"My pleasure, any time" Chris replied as he turned his head to see Louisa entering the room.

"You're awake Martin, how are you feeling?"

"Like death warmed over" replied Martin "but better than last night when I just felt like death" he said.

"Are you telling jokes Martin Ellingham, you must be feeling a bit better then" Louisa said.

"We've just been discussing whether you would like me here again tonight or if you're fine on your own. I'm happy to stay on if you'd like me to be here, or I'm equally happy to go home if you want your privacy. I'm booked to work tomorrow but I can call in and cancel if you need me, one of the benefits of only being a casual employee."

"I think we'll be fine Chris, thanks all the same. I think you need to go to work tomorrow, and then pop in and visit Elizabeth after work to discuss a few things, don't you?" Louisa said giving him a stern look.

"Yes, I think you're right" Chris said. "I'll just tidy up a bit in the spare room and then I'll leave you to it."

"No problems, there's a meal for you downstairs too, Dad cooked it, and I brought it over with mine and Martin's."

"Thanks, I'll have it as a take-a-way I think as I need to get a few things done at home before I head off to work tomorrow. I hope you're feeling better soon Martin, don't forget you're welcome to call me any time of the day or night if you need me Louisa" Chris said as he headed out of their room into the spare room next door.

Moving to the bed, Louisa bent over and kissed Martin on the forehead. "Are you hungry? Would you like some home cooked chicken noodle soup? Joan's made a batch especially for you."

"That would be nice, I'm actually feeling quite hungry and chicken noodle soup is quite nourishing, and isn't too difficult to eat." Martin said.

"OK, I'll be back in a minute with our meals" Louisa said as she headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Chris popped his head through the door and gave his final farewell then headed off downstairs to collect his meal and head home to put his feet up for a while and to ring Elizabeth for their regular evening chat. She would no doubt be wondering why he missed calling her last night so it would be good to be able to fill her in.

Coming up with a tray containing Martin's soup and a roast meal for her Louisa set the tray down, helped Martin to sit up and then passed him his soup. He was obviously hungry as the soup disappeared in no time, and Louisa had to make another trek down to the kitchen to bring up the spare soup that Joan had sent in case Martin was still hungry.

After finishing all of the soup, Martin finally feeling replete lay down and closed his eyes once more. "Thanks for looking after me so well Louisa, I dread to think how I would have managed being this sick on my own. Take care of yourself won't you; I don't want you to get sick too."

"Don't worry Martin I'm being very careful and if I do get sick, then at least I know I'll have a very good Doctor who'll make house calls just for me".

"If you get sick, you can be sure that you'll receive specialised medical treatment from your G.P. with round the clock attendance and extra special medical attention" Martin said, smiling softly at her.

"It's a lovely thought, and almost worth getting sick for" Louisa said.

"Now that Dad's gone, I think I'll have a shower, the steam might help my throat a bit and it will feel good to get clean again" Martin said.

"OK, I'll go and get the shower at the right temperature for you. Don't forget to call me if you need any help"

"I won't", Martin said as he started to remove his pyjama top while he was still safely seated.

Eventually, Martin finished his shower and came out of the bathroom wearing his dressing gown. Finding his clean pyjamas on the bed he finally managed to get changed and crawled back under the covers. Taking some more paracetamol he then lay back and was fast asleep in no time.

Louisa, tired from her busy day locked the house up early and came up to bed herself, and it wasn't long before she too was fast asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR**

**Forgiveness **

Early the next morning there was a knock on Louisa and Martin's front door. Louisa opened the door to see a middle aged woman carrying a medical bag.

"Hi, you must be Dr Ellingham's wife. I'm Helena the locum, I've been asked to call in first thing this morning before surgery."

"Yes that's right, I'm Louisa. Come on in Helena, I'll take you up to him."

Going into their room Louisa said, "Martin, this is Helena. She's filling in for you while you're sick."

With the introductions over, Louisa left Helena with Martin while she went downstairs. Something had been worrying her for a week or so and she wanted to discuss it with Helena when Martin wasn't present. She didn't have to wait long for her opportunity. Obviously Helena's meeting with Martin was short and to the point, as was to be expected when it came to Martin. As Helena made her way downstairs Louisa asked her if she had a few moments to spare and then proceeded to discuss her situation with her. Helena nodded and said that it wouldn't be a problem, as she would be coming back that evening to check on Dr Ellingham anyway. Greatly relieved Louisa smiled at her and walked with her to the door.

Unlike Louisa, Chris hadn't had a good start to the day. The previous night he'd slept as soon as his head hit his pillow but woke still feeling tired, however he made his way into Truro to work. He was hoping for a nice straight forward morning so that he could reach Elizabeth's house fairly early and have the whole afternoon to spend with her, and to finally get a few things sorted out. However fate seemed to be conspiring against him as complications ensued with his scheduled operation that morning and he didn't reach Elizabeth's house until 2 pm.

Sitting down, Chris ate a lovely lunch and sat back to listen to Elizabeth telling him of her week. Her soothing voice combined with his tired mind and body soon had him fast asleep in his chair.

Fortunately Elizabeth was aware of the busy time that he'd had recently so didn't take offence when he fell asleep. Instead she covered him with a light blanket and turned off the light to leave him to nap in peace. Chris eventually woke at 4:00 pm and decided that now was not the best time to get into any detailed discussions as he wanted to get back to Portwenn before it got too dark so he could check up on Martin.

Thanking Elizabeth for lunch and apologising for falling asleep on her, Chris kissed her goodbye and was soon on the road to home. After parking his car he began walking across the road, planning to go and knock on Louisa's door. While still crossing the road he saw Louisa opening the door to allow a middle aged lady to leave.

"Thanks for checking up on him Helena, and for that other thing too" Louisa said.

"No problems Louisa, I'm glad I was able to help. Let me know if you need anything else won't you?"

"I certainly will, thank you so much, bye for now."

Louisa was about to close the door when she saw Chris approaching. "Hi Chris, have you come to see Martin?"

"I was just wondering how he's going? Is he feeling any better?"

"He's quite a bit better today, that was the locum that you saw leaving when you arrived. She's checked on him and thinks he's still a fair way off being totally well, but he is making good progress since that horrible first night."

"That's good to hear"

"So, did you talk to Elizabeth like you said you were going to?" Louisa asked.

"I had every intention of doing so but my operation took longer than planned today, and I was so tired when I got to Elizabeth's I ended up falling asleep for two hours and then it was time to go home. I'll try again on Wednesday, I promise" Chris said.

"OK, just make sure you do. Come on up and see Martin" Louisa said as she headed towards the stairs, putting a small package that she'd been holding, down on the hallway table as she went.

"Martin, Chris is here to see you."

"Martin was sitting up trying to get some reading done, but was finding it too difficult to do for more than a few minutes at a time".

"How are you feeling today, any better?" Chris asked.

"Quite a bit better, but now that I don't need to sleep all of the time I'm getting a bit fed up. I can't read for long as my eyes and head hurt, and the TV is too loud, and I'm pretty sure that I'm driving Louisa crazy" Martin said.

Looking at what Martin was trying to read Chris said "Would you like me to read some medical articles to you. I haven't caught up on this edition yet myself, so we'll be killing two birds with one stone so to speak."

"That would be good. Louisa has tried reading to me, but she's unfamiliar with the terminology and I can see she finds it boring."

Chris picked up the medical journal, turned to the page that Martin had been on and started to read. They were both quite engrossed in the articles and spent some time after each one discussing what they'd just read, it felt like no time before the complete journal had been finished.

Looking at his watch Chris saw that it was now quite late and said that he really should be getting back home.

"I enjoyed our medical discussion Martin, would you like me to come over and read some more to you tomorrow? I must admit it's good to have someone to discuss the articles with, and as I said I needed to catch up on my reading anyway."

"That would be good Dad, thanks" Martin said. Not realising that he'd called Chris Dad once again.

Louisa hearing Chris saying his goodbyes to Martin came in and walked him to the door. "Thanks for reading to him Chris, he's been bored stiff all day, and I've been finding it hard to find things for him to do."

"No problem Louisa as I said to Martin, I enjoyed myself and I needed to catch up on those articles anyway so it was actually good to have someone to discuss them with. I've promised to come over again tomorrow to read some more. It's amazing how much more you pick up from these things when you have someone to talk them over with."

Waving goodbye Chris headed home and Louisa locked up, then picking up her parcel from the hall table headed upstairs.

The following morning, Chris was as good as his word and came over with a pile of medical journals and sat down next to Martin and started reading. While the men were occupied, Louisa went next door and played with Phil for a while. He had been enjoying his holiday with Grandma and Grandpa but now that Martin was feeling so much better Phil was able to visit Martin during the day, even though he was still spending the night at Joan's. Louisa and Martin didn't need Phil trying to get into their bed in the middle of the night while Martin was still infectious.

At lunch time, everyone went back to Louisa's house. Joan had made a lovely lunch and Louisa carried it over while Joan held Phil's hand. When they got inside Phil raced upstairs to see Martin.

"Daddy, Daddy guess what? I've been on holiday at Grandma and Grandpa's." When he got to the bed Phil stopped and then stared at Martin and then Chris. "Daddy, your face is all hairy like Dochris', and you both look the same now. Why is your face hairy Daddy?"

"Daddy hasn't been well so hasn't been able to shave, and that means his face has got all hairy like Dochris' " Louisa explained.

"Don't you get sick Mummy, you'd look horrible all hairy like Daddy and Dochris" Phil said.

"Don't worry Phil, I won't get all hairy like Daddy and Dochris, even if I should get sick" Louisa said. "It's only Daddies who get hairy."

"That's OK then" said Phil, still unsure about Martin's new look.

"Dochris, will you play with me?" Phil asked.

"That would be great fun Phil, but I've been playing with Daddy" Chris said. "I've been reading him stories while he's been too sick to read to himself."

"Oh, OK" Phil said. "I know, I've got a great idea" he said as he raced off.

While he was away, Martin and Chris began to eat their sandwiches. It wasn't long until Phil returned with a pile of books.

"Now you can read stories to both of us Dochris" Phil said as he dropped the pile of books onto Chris' lap and then climbed up onto the bed and cuddled up with Martin.

"Do you feel like a change in reading material Martin?" Chris said laughingly.

"It looks like the decision has been made already" Martin said with a slight smile as Chris began to read stories from "Thomas the Tank Engine."

Chris' voice was quite soothing, and soon both Martin and Phil had fallen asleep in the middle of Thomas being cheeky to Gordon the express engine.

While Chris had been reading to Martin and Phil, Louisa had snuck off to get her camera and managed to get the whole thing on video, along with some photos. _This would be just the thing for Phil's 21__st__ birthday party_ she thought.

Chris by this stage was starting to lose his voice so decided to head home and get a few things done, and maybe have a nap himself. Joan, tired from all of the babysitting went home for a nap too. Louisa joined her men on the bed, dozing for a couple of hours before waking up to get a meal for them all.

Later that night having bathed Phil and taken him back next door, she came back upstairs and mentioned to Martin what she had been discussing with Helena the locum. Martin agreed that she'd done the right thing and that it was time. Martin then pulled her to him for a cuddle while being careful not to breathe on her.

Wednesday dawned bright and clear. Martin woke feeling significantly better and was even able to get up and get dressed and to spend the day downstairs. Next door Chris headed off to work, hoping for a better day than Monday had been, and in fact things were going really well for Chris for most of the day. His operation went smoothly and he got to Elizabeth's early. They enjoyed a lovely lunch and they'd even been able to discuss their relationship.

"So you see Elizabeth, I really value your friendship, it means everything to me, but I'm finding that I'm thinking of very little else but you now a days. As you know, I'm only just starting to get back on track financially, and my scarring is not something that I could ask anyone to have to live with on a daily basis, and my track record with relationships is pitiful, yet you know all of this and still seem to like me. What I'd like to know is do you think there could be any future for us down the track when I'm better able to support you as you deserve to be supported, and do you think you could stomach living with someone as disfigured as me?" Chris asked, expecting Elizabeth to now let him down lightly.

"Chris, first of all this is the 21st century, who said that you need to support me? If we're broke we'll work on the problem together, and if I found you hideous and couldn't stomach looking at you, would we be here today? Of course I can see a future for us; I've just been waiting for you to get a move on. In fact I was going to take matters into my own hands on Valentines Day if you hadn't said anything." Elizabeth replied.

Chris, not believing his luck bent over to kiss her when his phone rang. He went to turn it off then noticed that it was Margaret calling.

I'm sorry Elizabeth, this is Margaret calling I dread to think what she wants of me now, but I need to take this to see what she's up to.

"Margaret, what do you want?" Chris asked abruptly as he answered his mobile. "Uh huh, what! No you can't do that. I won't let you. Don't you dare! Chris stared at his phone with utter dislike as he said to Elizabeth. Sorry, I need to get home as quickly as possible. Margaret's boyfriend has left her for a younger woman and Margaret is in Truro right now. She said that she is heading off to Portwenn now. She won't tell me what for, but it doesn't take much to realise that she's going to go to Martin and try to sponge money from him and Louisa. I can't let her upset him again, especially after she told me what she had actually said to him before she left for Portugal. It's horrible to think that I spent all of those years married to her, and that I was just as bad."

"No time for recriminations now Chris, Let's get in your car. I'm coming with you." Elizabeth said as she grabbed her bag and quickly locked the house up behind them.

Chris didn't think he'd ever made the trip that fast before, but was soon entering the village just as school was getting out. Quickly he parked the car when he saw Joan and Phil leaving the school.

"Joan wait, I need to tell you something" Chris said to her as he limped at speed to catch up with her. Joan momentarily distracted let go of Phil's hand. Phil seeing his friend on the other side of the road quickly started to cross over so that he could see his friend's toy train again. _Phil was in the middle of the road when __Chris __saw a small car coming along far too fast. Before he could think what he was doing, Chris raced into the road and threw Phil clear of the car, then tried to get across himself. The car attempted to brake but was going too fast and knocked __Chris__ flying into the gutter._

"Chris! Elizabeth screamed as she ran to him. Joan looked at the driver and couldn't believe what she saw. Margaret was behind the wheel and getting ready to back the car away. Fortunately she was thwarted by Bert Large's restaurant van that had driven up behind her. Bert had been about to drop off a food delivery to the restaurant when he saw the accident occur. Always liking to be amongst the action he drove up to see what was what and inadvertently blocked Margaret's car off before she could get too far.

Penhale was actually in the right place at the right time for a change as he'd been giving a talk on stranger danger at the school and was able to arrest Margaret for attempted hit and run, and for speeding in a school zone.

Joan in the meantime had called Louisa's mobile and then Martin's followed by the surgery. The locum was currently on a house call but it wasn't long before Martin arrived a little bit the worse for wear, but functioning.

Running to his father with his heart in his mouth, Martin called out "Dad, Dad!" but Chris just laid there unresponsive. Asking Joan to call an ambulance he checked to make sure that Chris was breathing. When he noticed with relief that he had a strong pulse and was breathing regularly he ran several other cursory checks. "He appears to be concussed Elizabeth. Stay with him and keep talking to him". Louisa by this stage had come running out from the school and gathered Phil to her. Martin went to Louisa and said, "When the ambulance gets here I think it's best if Elizabeth and I go in with Dad. Can you drive Joan and Phil up in my car and organise to leave Phil with Clare while we're at the hospital?"

"Yes, that's a good idea, I'm sure she'd help out" Louisa said as she quickly dialled Clare's number.

The ambulance could be heard in the distance by this time, "Get out of the way, can't you hear that an ambulance is trying to get through you rubber necking ghouls" Martin said to the villagers, dispersing them more rapidly than Penhale had been able to do. Martin spoke to the ambulance officers as they loaded Chris inside, then helped Elizabeth up, then got in himself.

Louisa gathered the rest of the family into Martin's car and followed the ambulance into Truro, making a slight diversion to drop Phil off at the Stone's house.

When Joan and Louisa arrived, Martin met them in the waiting room. They're running some tests now but from what I could see Dad has concussion. How bad his condition is, we're yet to find out. Martin led them to where Elizabeth was seated. "It was Margaret, she was coming to Portwenn to cause problems, and Chris raced back to stop her as he didn't want you to have to worry about your Mother. It was her that ran him over as he pushed Phil to safety. If she had hit Phil at that speed…." Elizabeth shuddered and then broke into loud rasping sobs. "Things were going so well too, we were just sorting some things out when the phone rang, and now who know how badly he's been injured" Elizabeth sobbed even louder.

Joan put her arms around her and hugged her tightly. They all sat with their own thoughts wondering what was going on when Jeff came out to meet them.

"When I saw that it was Chris that was injured I followed him around while he had all of his tests and said I'd come to speak to you. Basically there's good news and bad news I'm afraid, he said putting his arm around his Mum's shoulders. Chris does not appear to have broken any bones, but he is badly concussed and he has sprained his left wrist. We have been unable to find any structural damage to the brain tissue and expect a full recovery in the near future. He is however still unconscious at the moment and is only allowed one visitor at a time. Who wants to go first?" Jeff asked.

"I do, Elizabeth said" as Jeff showed her to Chris' room. Sitting down next to the bed Elizabeth held Chris' hand and said "You were so brave today Chris. We're all here at the hospital worrying about you, you have a family now Chris, and we all care. Get well soon my dear" Elizabeth kissed him softly, squeezed his hand and sat with him.

"He saved Phil's life today Martin" Louisa said holding Martin tightly to her and tucking her head under his chin. "Yes" Martin said, shuddering at the thought of how close his son had come to being run over by Margaret. He couldn't bring himself to even think of her as his mother, as far as he was concerned Joan was the only one who had earned that title.

"I think after Chris' heroics today that your Dad has earned your forgiveness don't you?" Louisa asked.

"Yes I think so. When it's my turn to visit I'll tell him. Did you want me to tell him everything while I'm there, it may help to bring him out of it?"

"Yes, please do. I think he's earned that at the very least don't you?"

"Yes, I think so too".

Half an hour later, Elizabeth came out of Chris' room. "I think he'd like to have you visit with him for a while too Martin, but I'd like to go back again later if you don't mind?"

"I don't mind Elizabeth, I'll come and collect you when I've had my visit" Martin replied.

Walking into Chris' room, Martin noticed how old and frail his father was beginning to look, it was as if some vital spark was missing.

"Ahh, emmm Dad" Martin began. "Thank you for saving Phil today, we are all in your debt. I thought I should also let you know that I forgive you. You were a pitiful excuse for a father when I was young, but I hope that now the years have passed we can learn to be family again. Chris began to stir slightly, I also wanted you to be the first to know that Louisa is pregnant and you're going to be a grandfather again, but that's still a secret as we're still to tell the rest of the family. You will have to start Training Phil to say Granddad and not Dochris too, mind you it is a catchy name".

There was a definite twitching, he was sure of it. Chris opened his mouth and said, thank you son, I love you. Then for Chris, all was black once more.


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: Doc Martin, the program and characters are the property of Buffalo Pictures. **

**CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE**

**Family Life**

Chris regained consciousness but fell into an exhausted sleep soon after. Martin, having made peace with his father left him so that Elizabeth could return and be with Chris once he woke again. When he did finally open his eyes Chris saw Elizabeth by his side. She was holding his hand and staring into the distance.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Chris said now coming fully awake. Having been checked over thoroughly when he regained consciousness earlier, the medical staff had been able to check on him with less frequency which Elizabeth was thankful for, as she was hoping that they may now finally find some private time together.

"I was thinking how brave you were saving Phil like that and about how I felt when I thought you may have been dead. I never want to feel like that again Chris, and I don't know about you, but I'm sure about how I feel. So are you ever going to ask me to marry you?"

Chris felt he must still be unconscious and surreptitiously dug his nails into his palm to make sure he was actually awake.

"Are you sure? What about everything I mentioned earlier?"

"I'm not bothered by your scars, and your actions today show that you are no longer the selfish, pitiful excuse for a man that you used to be. Now are you making excuses so you can let me down lightly or are you going to propose?" Elizabeth asked determinedly.

"Elizabeth, I'd like nothing more than for you to do me the honour of becoming my wife. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Chris I'll marry you. What a surprise, I thought you'd never ask" Elizabeth said with a smile as she bent over and gently kissed him until she noticed him wince in pain.

"Ouch, sorry – my head is still very sore and you bumped my sprained wrist. I can't wait to get out of here so I can show you how I feel properly, but at the moment, I just feel so weak."

"There's time enough yet" Elizabeth said as she once more took his hand in hers, at least now we know where we stand with each other everything else can wait" she said staying with him until he fell asleep.

A week later Chris was back home although he wasn't back at work yet. It was his birthday and a party was being held for him at Martin and Louisa's house that evening. Elizabeth had come down for the day and they'd spent an enjoyable day together and Chris was now getting ready to head across the road.

"It's hard to believe that Martin has actually forgiven me, and I've been accepted into his family, I feel a bit like it's all a dream and I'm scared I'm going to wake up" Chris said to Elizabeth as he admired the dress she was wearing for the party this evening.

"Well it's not a dream, so you don't need to worry about waking up" Elizabeth said. "Just sit back and enjoy your birthday party, it's going to be a lovely night, I just know it is" Elizabeth said. "Jeff, Clare and Amelia should be here soon so that will make it a real family evening. It's hard to believe that Jeff going to that one surgical conference in London has made such a change to our lives. It's unlikely he would have met Martin and struck up a friendship if he'd not attended it, and then we would probably never have met, I hate to think about how close we came to not meeting each other."

"It's a horrible thought isn't it, I prefer to think of it as being destined to meet" Chris said with a smile as he pulled Elizabeth to him and kissed her.

"Mmmm, I suppose you're right" Elizabeth said returning his kiss. They were disturbed just then by some headlights turning into Martin and Louisa's driveway. "It looks like the rest of the family have arrived. Let's go birthday boy" Elizabeth said pulling Chris along with her.

Catching up with Jeff and family, they all arrived at the front door together. "You look nice tonight Mum" Jeff said, giving Elizabeth a quick kiss on the cheek. "By the way, happy birthday Chris, nice to see you up and about again" Jeff said as he shook Chris' hand.

"Happy birthday Dochris" Amelia said as she gave Chris a parcel.

"For me? Why thank you Amelia" Chris said, bending down to retrieve the parcel. Louisa hearing everyone arrive opened the front door and ushered everyone to the table which had been set with party hats and decorations and plenty of delicious food, some of which had been cooked earlier by Terry before he left for work.

Chris was given the seat of honour which had been decorated with balloons courtesy of Phil, and had a very elaborate party hat sitting on the placemat in front of it. To his right sat Elizabeth and his left sat Phil. Martin sat at the opposite end with Louisa to his left and Jeff to his right. Clare sat next to Jeff and Amelia, and Amelia was next to Phil. Joan was next to Elizabeth and another seat had been left for Terry in case he was able to leave work early and join them.

As Chris sat down, Martin helped Phil to put a very large present on the floor in front of Chris, just near the gift that he had been given by Amelia. A small gift was handed to him from Joan too. Chris was so happy he didn't know how to contain his joy. Starting with the gift from the Stones he read the card which had "_Happy birthday Dochris, welcome to the family. Love Jeff, Clare and Amelia_" With slightly moist eyes he proceeded to open the gift from them. Carefully unwrapping the paper he discovered a lovely photo album and a silver photo frame. "This is for putting all of your new happy memories in. We wanted you to be able to treasure each day that you spend with Mum, and this was one of the best ways we could think of to help you to do that" Jeff said.

Chris got up to kiss Clare and shake Jeff's hand. He then bent down and thanked Amelia too. "Thank you all, what a thoughtful present" Chris said. "It's just the thing to go with my new digital camera that Elizabeth gave me. Why do I get the feeling that you worked in together on this?" Chris said with a laugh.

Going back to his seat he then opened the card from Martin, Louisa and Phil. "_Happy birthday 'Grandad Dochris' all our love and best wishes from your family_."

With glistening eyes he looked up at his family and then started to unwrap the accompanying very large and bulky present. Pulling the paper away from it he discovered a brand new multi function printer, scanner and photocopier.

"We thought you'd like to be able to print out photos from your new digital camera and to be able to put them straight into your new photo album" Louisa said with a smile.

"It's wonderful, thank you so much. What a thoughtful gift" Chris said as he got up to give Louisa a kiss and hug Martin. Martin was a bit stiff but he accepted the hug. Chris knelt down and thanked Phil too and shook his hand solemnly.

Last but not least, Chris opened Joan's card. "_Happy birthday big brother, hope you have a wonderful birthday. Love your little sister"_

Thanking Joan for the card, he opened up the present to find a camera case that would fit his new camera and some deluxe photo paper.

Walking to Joan, Chris gave her a hug and thanked her.

Elizabeth then pulled Chris' new camera out of her handbag and asked everyone to put on their party hats so that she could take a photo. To give him credit, Martin did try but his head was too big and the hat broke, so Elizabeth took a photo of him with his ripped hat instead. Gathering everyone together she took several shots and then said "Your first documented happy memories for your new photo album".

"I'll print them out tomorrow and put them straight into my book" he said with a smile.

There was plenty of food available and soon everyone was eating. Phil and Amelia finished theirs first and were allowed to go and play leaving the adults to enjoy their conversation uninterrupted.

"So what ended up happening with Margaret then?" Clare asked after the children had left.

"Margaret is currently enjoying a stay at Her Majesty's Pleasure. I hope she uses the time to stop and think about how shallow her life is and decides to improve things but I don't hold out much hope. Having no skills at all other than socialising and spending money I don't think she's likely to find a cushy occupation behind bars. The only job that I can think she'd have any skill at would be cleaning, and to picture Margaret cleaning toilets to earn enough money to survive inside is a sobering thought, it will no doubt broaden her character though" Chris said.

"Things have certainly been eventful for you in the last couple of weeks haven't they?" Jeff said thinking of everything that they had been through recently.

"You could certainly say that, and there is one other thing that we thought we should probably mention this evening too" Louisa said.

"What's that?" Clare asked curiously.

"We're going to have another baby" Louisa said, grinning happily.

"Congratulations" everyone said as they got up to wish Martin and Louisa all the best.

Joan was beside herself with joy. "I'm going to be a Grandma again, I can't wait. How far are you along?" Joan asked.

"Not far yet, that's why we're not letting anyone else know yet. We're about 6 weeks along, but we thought tonight would be a good night to share the news" Louisa replied.

"Can this night get any better?" Chris said. "Thank you all, for the best evening I've ever enjoyed, lovely family, food, presents and best of all lovely news. Congratulations to you both, I'm so happy for you" Chris said kissing Louisa on the cheek and hugging Martin once again.

Not long after Martin and Louisa had shared their news, Phil and Amelia came running in and Amelia said "Dochris, Dochris, have you seen your birthday cake yet?"

"He's not Dochris anymore" Phil said. "He's Grandad Dochris – Daddy said so."

"I was wrong" Chris said, "It appears my evening can get better."

**THE END**

**A/N. Thank you to all who have read and reviewed and special thanks to Griffinstar for her help throughout. I hope you have enjoyed my first attempt at fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it. **


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